


You Wish!

by ginnydear



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Jily Lives, Alternate Universe - No Voldemort, Based on a Tumblr Post, Drama, F/M, Fluff, Romance, Soulmate-Identifying Marks
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-03-26
Updated: 2017-04-27
Packaged: 2018-05-29 06:05:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 14
Words: 58,654
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6362545
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ginnydear/pseuds/ginnydear
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"There's an old legend, about souls..." Harry Potter has lived his entire life knowing the legend of half souls, and when he wakes up on his seventeenth birthday with a cryptic two word message on his arm, he becomes part of the legend as well. [Jily Lives, No Voldemort AU. Based on the Tumblr post about soulmate tattoos.]</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> This started out as happening in the canon universe (Jily doesn't live, Harry still has to fight Voldy) but I realized how much extra work that would be, having Harry on the run from Voldy with this added weight of 'who is my soulmate?!', so I changed the entire universe. I have a vague idea of where this will inevitably end, and I can't promise consistent updates as that's just who I am as a person, but I'm excited to flesh this story out!! Dedicated to my Hinny fam on Tumblr.

_The Burrow, 1990_

 “Mum, why do you and dad have writing on your arms and other people don’t?” Ginny asked one day as she stood at the sink, washing the vegetables for dinner. Molly Weasley smiled, handing Ginny another carrot.

“There’s an old legend, about souls, that says at one point, all souls were little balls of warm light that floated around on their own. Then one day, a human decided to try to capture a ball of warm light. And when they did, they didn’t know how to keep the soul, so they swallowed it,” Molly began, and Ginny gagged.

“They swallowed a ball of light?” she asked incredulously, and Molly shrugged.

“Do you want to hear the story, or not?” Molly asked, and Ginny shut her mouth dramatically.

“Anyway, when they did this, it was told that the humans felt a sense of purpose. So, naturally, more and more humans started to find and swallow the souls. And as they did this, the souls began to be harder to find, and people fought over them. Under pressure, the souls would split on their own, creating two new souls. However, when the people swallowed them, they felt an incredible need to be together.

“People started to spread rumors about the “half souls”, and how the people who swallowed them went mad, and came down with incredible sickness. This was mostly to keep others from splitting the souls, because there was an actual consequence: the souls needed to stay together, so the people did too.

“When the first Capturers started to die, the souls were at a bit of a loss. They’d become used to living in a human, and felt tired of wandering on their own. They eventually found new humans to inhabit, even the half souls. The half souls were scared though, because they wanted to make sure they’d spend this lifetime together. So, when their other halves first met, they latched onto the first words they spoke to each other, and wrote them on their arms. The writing became permanent as the souls went from lifetime to lifetime.”

“So you and dad… have two halves of the same soul?” Ginny asked, the carrots in her hand forgotten as she took in what her mother was saying. Molly nodded.

“The halves spread around the world, and so it’s rarer now to meet someone with the tattoos,” Molly explained, gesturing to the vegetables Ginny hadn’t washed. Ginny hurriedly picked them up and started scrubbing again.

“Lily and James have them, right?” Ginny asked, and Molly hummed in response.

“They’re the first people I’ve met who do,” she said, thinking for a moment about the younger couple. “It was one of the reasons we first became friends. It was just so strange to meet someone with the tattoos.”

Ginny looked over at her mother’s arm, at the words she’d been staring at since she was a child.

“Do you think it’ll happen to me?” Ginny asked, trying not to sound too hopeful. Molly pursed her lips.

“Only time will tell,” Molly said, passing her a squash.

_Potter Manor, 1990_

“So… how did you know it was mum?”

James Potter looked across the table at his eldest son, who wore a curious expression under his glasses. Harry sat right next to his younger sister, Rose, who was just as curious as her brother. Setting down the paper he was reading, James rested his elbows on the table to lean towards his two children.

“How did I know it was mum what?” he asked, playing dumb. Harry sighed heavily, glaring up at his father. Rose, never one to be out dramatized, sighed as well.

“How did you know you and mum had matching tattoos?” Harry asked, pointing to the writing on his father’s arm. James smiled as he looked at the writing for a moment.

“Well, your mum actually got her tattoos first, because she’s older than me,” James said, and from the kitchen, Lily laughed.

“Don’t you forget it!” she yelled, causing the kids to laugh as James rolled his eyes.

“Anyway, she got her tattoo, and I remember hoping… hoping I’d get one…” James trailed off, and Rose sat up to rest her arms on the table.

“But how did you know they matched?” she asked impatiently, looking up as Lily came into the dining room, a smile on her face at the conversation. She sat down next to James, sipping on her cup of tea.

“Getting the tattoos is very rare, Rosie, so when they showed up on me a few months later, it was obvious,” James explained, and Rose nodded slowly.

“Because not everyone gets them,” she stated, and Lily hummed in response. Harry perked up suddenly from where his eyes had settled on the table.

“Mr. and Mrs. Weasley have them!” he exclaimed, looking between his parents for confirmation.

“Yes, they do. It’s a small part of the reason Arthur and I became friends at the Ministry. It’s such a rare occurrence that finding someone else was such a joy, I had so many questions to ask,” Lily said, and James smirked at his wife.

“You’ve never met anyone else with them?” Rose asked, and James and Lily looked at each other for a moment.

“No, sadly. It’s not just restricted to the magical community, although I did read this theory that the souls have been picking more and more magical people as an act of self preservation, because Muggles have a nasty scare of it-“Lily cut off suddenly, covering her hand with her mouth. James, still smirking, looked at his kids.

“There’s no official record of who has them. And people aren’t exactly open about it either, and like your mum said, it isn’t just witches and wizards who have it happen,” James finished for his wife, reaching over to grab her hand.

_Hogwarts Express, 1992_

“They just appear on your arm when you’re 17?” Hermione asked, one of her many questions since meeting both the Weasley’s and Potters. Ginny nodded, having much more patience than Harry and Ron on the subject.

“Only if you’re two halves of a single soul,” Ginny explained, barely looking up from one of her course books she was looking through. Hermione had a couple in her lap as well, but she was focused on other subjects.

“And how do they know they’re the two halves?”

“It’s very rare,” Harry said, entering into the conversation as Ron beat him at chess. “It’s not a normally occurring event, so if your birthdays are kind of close, you’ll find out right away, like our parents did.”

“But how do they know, still?” Hermione asked, not satisfied with the answer. Ron began setting up the chessboard for another match.

“Mum explained it that, when the souls left their first bodies and found new people, they were scared that they’d end up apart for that lifetime, so they latched onto the first interaction the people had and wrote that on their arms,” Ginny explained, and Hermione nodded in understanding.

“So, your mum,” Hermione gestured to Harry, “was having trouble finding the train and your dad helped.”

Harry nodded easily, grimacing as Ron gestured that the board was ready.

“And your mum?” Hermione looked at Ron for this, causing Ginny to giggle softly.

“Oh, her arm says, ‘Probably Gryffindor, like my whole family,’ and dad’s arm says, ‘What house do you think you’ll be in?’ so it wasn’t a huge mystery,” Ron said with a shrug, and Hermione brought her hand to her face. She got lost in thought for a moment, giving Ron the opportunity to get the match started, and Ginny a chance to start reading her book.

“What if,” Hermione started, and everyone else groaned, “You never meet them though? What if circumstance doesn’t allow it?”

Ginny, Ron, and Harry all looked at each other, having asked these questions years ago, when they had first heard the stories. It was Harry who sat up a little straighter to answer.

“Mum and dad described it as… finding the piece you’d always thought you were missing. Mum said it’s comforting, to be holding my dad’s hand, or sit next to him on the couch. She said the feeling doesn’t really happen until you’re almost seventeen anyway, so you really have no way of knowing it’s going to happen to you until it does,” Harry said, and Ron looked up from the board.

“Dad once told Charlie it was like he could properly breathe, being around mum after being apart too long,” Ron said softly, looking at Ginny, who nodded.

“I remember Charlie saying that,” she commented, and Hermione looked at each of them.

“But what happens if they didn’t find each other? Or one dies?” she asked, and the other three all looked at each other.

“Mum said she had no idea, but she thought you’d end up spending the rest of your life feeling incomplete, though you could live on. The souls just strongly prefer to be together,” Ginny said, and Harry and Ron nodded in agreement.

“It would suck not to find your person,” Hermione said, looking out the window at the countryside whizzing past. Ron sucked in his lower lip before smacking his lips loudly.

“This is getting sad, let’s play chess,” he said, looking at Harry, who groaned.

“That’ll just make me sadder,” he said, causing everyone to laugh.

_Gryffindor Common Room, 1996_

“You will _not_ believe this!” Ron said, holding up a letter and waving it loudly in the air. Ginny, from where she sat on the couch, her feet in Harry’s lap, held up her hand.

“Give it here, you’re terrible at paraphrasing letters,” she said, and Ron threw the letter at her.

“Charlie knows someone who got a tattoo,” Ron said, sitting on the floor in front of the couch. Hermione, from the armchair nearby, looked up.

“A tattoo of what? Doesn’t Charlie have a tattoo?” she asked, and Ginny sat up, her feet jostling out of Harry’s lap, who yelped in surprise.

“Sorry Harry, but Ron! You mean _a_ tattoo, _the_ tattoo! One of his coworker’s daughters turned seventeen the other day and it showed up on her arm! Charlie doesn’t _exactly_ know what it says, because it’s in Romanian, but still!” Ginny exclaimed, handing the letter to Harry, patting his arm in apology. He rolled his eyes at her before beginning to read the letter, and Hermione got up from her chair to read over his shoulder.

“It doesn’t say if she’s found her other half yet,” Hermione said, finishing the letter in record time. Harry threw the letter aside in mock exasperation, and Ron chuckled.

“Well, it’s bound to happen soon. She’ll figure out the words or the other person will turn seventeen,” Ginny said, sitting back on the couch again next to Harry.

“Do you think it’ll happen to any of us?” Hermione asked, looking between her friends. Harry and Ron shared a look, that didn’t go unnoticed by Hermione.

“Oh, I know you both have as little romantic feelings as you have facial hair,” she said, and Ron and Harry both began to protest. Hermione held up her hands, shaking her head as Ginny laughed.

“I don’t know, we all remember that time Ron tried to shave on his own for the first time,” Ginny said, and Ron reached over to pinch her leg.

“Ow!” Ginny shouted, nudging him with her foot.

“What are you guys being loud about?” Rose asked, walking up to where they sat. Harry fumbled with the letter and handed it to her. A smile broke out on her face instantly.

“Oh, wow! That’s so cool! See, it’s not as rare as mum said,” Rose said, sitting down on the arm of the couch. Ron shrugged.

“Romania is pretty far away, and we only know because Charlie is there,” he said, and Rose stuck out her tongue at him.

“Rude, Ron,” she said, standing up and walking off toward where her friends were sitting. Hermione rolled her eyes.

“Well, we all start turning seventeen pretty soon, so watch out,” she joked, reaching over to ruffle Ron and Harry’s hair.

_Potter Manor. 31 July 1997_

Harry woke up on his seventeenth birthday with a start. He sat up in his bed, ignoring the way his head pounded from the fire whiskey shots Fred and George had coerced him into taking and grabbing his glasses. He blinked repeatedly, and reached up to rub his eyes, when he realized what had woken him up.

His left arm was numb.

Panicked, he looked down in the semi-darkness at his arm. His vision, despite his glasses being on, was blurry at best still, and he rubbed his eyes again to help it pass.

“Harry? Are you awake?”

It was James, and as the bedroom door opened, Harry’s vision began to clear.

“Yeah, what’s the matter dad?” he asked, reaching over to turn on the light.

“Well, your mother is making breakfast, and she’d probably kill you if you missed-“

“Dad, look!”

James narrowed his eyebrows, moving across his son’s bedroom to where Harry now sat on the edge of the bed, staring at his arm. James felt his breath hitch in his throat as he saw the black lines, the letters, on his son’s skin.

“Oh my,” James said, reaching down and lifting his sons arm up to read it.

“What does it say?” Harry asked, his voice raising a few octaves. James started to laugh then, letting go of Harry’s arm to turn towards the door.

“Lily, you’re going to want to come see this!” he yelled, and moments later, Lily appeared in the doorway, an annoyed look on her face.

“I’m making-“

“Harry has a tattoo,” James interrupted her, and Lily leveled her son with a glare.

“You got a tattoo while dru-“she stopped mid-sentence, the realization dawning on her.

“You have a tattoo!” she practically yelled, reaching over to look at her sons arm, her eyes filling with tears.

“And it’s… oh dear,” Lily started laughing, in the same fashion as James did, and Harry glared at his parents.

“Oh, come on! ‘You wish!’ isn’t that bad!” Harry said, trying to sound confident, and failing. Rose walked into the room at that moment, and gasped when she saw her brother's arm.

“Oh, awesome! This is going to be the best school year yet,” Rose said, crossing her arms and looking quite smug.

Hours later, when Molly arrived to help Lily decorate for the birthday party she’d been planning for months, bringing Ron and Ginny with her,  Harry pulled up his shirt sleeve to show them the tattoo with bated breath.

“That’s pretty vague, mate,” Ron said, breaking the shocked silence. Molly reached over and slapped the back of Ron’s head.

“Ron, be nice, it could be worse,” she said, reaching over and kissing Harry on the cheek. “You’ll find whoever it is.”

Ginny, who had been quiet the entire time, leaned over and whispered something in Ron’s ear. Ron turned a deep shade of red and started laughing, his eyes watering as he looked away from Harry.

“What did you say to him?” Harry demanded, and Ginny shrugged.

“I just asked him what the first words Malfoy said to you were…,” she said innocently, and Harry could hear his dad laughing in the other room.

“Not even close to this,” Harry said, gesturing to the words on his arm. Ginny held up her hands, a smile on her face.

“I’m only kidding; you know we’re going to help you figure out who it is. Hell, I’m pretty sure Hermione has alphabetized lists, titled, ‘If One of Us Gets the Tattoo’ with names and first words and everything,” Ginny said, reaching over and patting Harry’s shoulder. He sighed, his body relaxing.

“Yeah, and hopefully, whoever it is turns seventeen soon as well, so I won’t have to wait too long,” he said, and Ginny smiled.

“That’s the spirit.”


	2. Birthday Talks

“HE HAS WHAT?”

Lily listened as two pairs of footsteps thumped through her living room into the kitchen, and laughed as her son ran to her, hiding behind her much smaller frame. Molly, from where she stood across the kitchen, laughed into her apron.

“Harry! Let me see!” Hermione called as she raced into the kitchen, batting away Ron’s hands as he tried to restrain her from attacking Harry.

“Only if you calm down,” Harry said, peeking out from behind Lily, causing Ron to give up on his attempts to subdue Hermione and laugh.

“I’m perfectly fine, I just got a little excited, and that’s all. Let me see! We can start trying to figure it out!” Hermione said, walking towards Harry. Lily shrieked as Harry lifted her up easily, using her as a shield.

“Oh no, put me down, right now! It’s not funny when Sirius does it; it’s certainly not funny when you do it!” Lily yelled, reaching around and gently pushing at Harry. He pouted at her, but backed away as Hermione advanced on it, grabbing his left arm in a vice grip.

“Ow, okay!” Harry said, and Hermione shushed him. She looked at the words, up at Harry, and then to Lily.

“Oh, this isn’t going to be easy,” Hermione said, not waiting for Lily to reply before pulling Harry from the kitchen, Ron a few steps behind them. Lily waited until she heard the backdoor close before turning to Molly.

“Do you have any ideas?” Lily asked, levitating a pile of scraps into the garbage. Molly pursed her lips, barely moving her wrist as the cake began to mix itself.

“I’m not sure,” Molly said, her eyes glazing over as she looked at the ingredients on the counter. Lily narrowed her eyebrows.

“What’s wrong?” she asked, and Molly snapped out of her revive with a sigh.

“I’ll have to go find the book I found, years ago, when I was first researching the tattoos, but… I was thinking about something I read, about how much we can help,” Molly began, and Lily bit her bottom lip.

“You mean the parents?”

“No,” Molly sighed, “I mean other half souls. It’s just dumb luck that he’s your son.”

“What do you mean, other half souls can’t help? Why is that?” Lily demanded, picking up a knife and stabbing a piece of meat that was in front of her. Molly thought for a moment.

“There isn’t much actual research into this, so it could just be purely false, but there was a section I read about older half souls not interfering with each other’s search, because there was a fear of repercussions. Now, it really just sounds like these people were barmy, but it was still recorded that the adults who tried to help ended up suffering.”

“That sounds barmy,” Lily muttered, setting down her knife and looking out towards the back door.

“You’re telling me that you believe this? That if I try to help him, bad things will start happening to us?” Lily asked after a moment, and Molly shrugged.

“You believe what you want to believe dear, I’m just telling you what I read.”

**(…)**

“You honestly have no idea?” Hermione asked, and Harry sighed. He was watching Ginny as she flew through the air, a quaffle tucked under her arm.

“I really don’t,” Harry said, looking for a moment at Hermione. She was beginning to take on the look she had right before she went to the library, and Harry took that as his chance to escape. Slipping out of his chair, he ran over to the broom shed that sat against the fence and grabbed his favorite broom. Before Hermione had come out of her trance, he was up in the air.

“Took you long enough!” Ginny said as she flew past him, tossing the quaffle up into the air.

“Where’s Ron?” Harry asked, catching the quaffle with ease and looking around the pitch that was set up inside the circle of trees. Ginny shrugged and pointed to the sunny spot of the backyard, where Ron was napping in a chair in the sun.

“Fred and George were still asleep when we left. I’m surprised you’re so awake,” Ginny said, and Harry laughed, tossing her the quaffle again. They began to fly in a loop around the pitch, almost automatically.

“My mother would kill me if I slept through my seventeenth party,” Harry said, and Ginny rolled her eyes.

“Don’t think my mother wouldn’t either,” she replied, slowing down to fly slightly behind Harry, catching the ball as he tossed it over his shoulder with ease.

“Your mum wouldn’t kill me or one of you lot?” Harry said with a grin, and Ginny tossed the ball out of his reach. He dived to catch it, coming up smoothly to fly next to Ginny again, the grin still plastered onto his face.

“It’s my birthday,” he said, sticking out his bottom lip dramatically. She rolled her eyes and bumped into him easily.

“That doesn’t mean you get to be a prat,” she said, and Harry shrugged. He slowed down as they neared the far ends hoops, and lazily tossed the ball through the tallest one. Ginny sped up to catch the quaffle before it fell into the brush.

“Are you okay?” Ginny asked as they started the loop again, and Harry looked at her.

“What do you mean?” he asked, and she gestured to his arm.

“Are you okay… with that?” she said, and Harry stopped moving. Ginny stalled next to him, bouncing the ball in her hands nervously.

“Do I have a choice?” he said, looking at her after a moment, and she frowned.

“Don’t think of it that way,” she said, reaching over and pulling on his arm to look at the words. Harry relaxed for a moment.

“Then how should I think of it?” he asked, and she pursed her lips in thought.

“Think of how lucky you are! You’ve grown up with your parents, and you’ve been around mine enough to know what it’s like. You don’t have to go searching for that person to spend the rest of your life with, as it’s already predestined,” she said, her voice becoming dreamy as she went along. Harry smiled and reached over to gently squeeze Ginny’s arm.

“You’re going to find the person, and you’re going to be happy, and that’s all that really matters, right?” Ginny said, and Harry smiled at her.

“As long as Hermione doesn’t drive me insane trying to figure out who it is,” he replied quietly, and she chuckled softly. His hand was still on her arm.

“She does it because she cares,” Ginny said, gently shrugging off Harry’s hand and tossing the quaffle up into the air.

“Now, how about we go wake up Ron, test his keeper skills?” she said, her eyes sparkling with mischief. Harry nodded, suddenly feeling much better than he had before they’d started flying.

“Nothing would please me more,” Harry said, taking the ball from Ginny and flying off towards the house again.

**(…)**

“Harry, Sirius is _finally_ here,” James called as his best friend arrived, taking the suspiciously large present from him.

“And I want to see that tattoo!” Sirius called as he walked into the kitchen, saying hello to Lily and Molly before moving on to the living room. He followed the sounds of laughter out the backdoor, where he found his godson and friends sitting around the table on the deck. Harry jumped up immediately, running over to give Sirius a hug. Ginny and Ron were right behind him.

“Mum was beginning to worry a bit,” Harry joked as he stepped back to let Sirius hug Ron and Ginny. Sirius laughed, holding out his hand to shake Hermione’s proffered hand.

“Your mum knows me better than that,” Sirius said before reaching out to take Harry’s arm.

“Now, let’s see this tattoo! I can remember when it happened to your mum, and she was terrified. Here she was, thinking she knew all there was about magic, and then something new happens, and it’s not even magical!” Sirius said, looking at the words on Harry’s arm with a grin.

“Don’t start,” Harry said as Sirius started to open his mouth, and Ginny chuckled.

“Hermione has been making a list for the past hour, so we can cross reference and ask questions and eliminate _all of the possibilities,”_ Ginny said, imitating Hermione’s impassioned voice. Ron and Harry laughed as Hermione rolled her eyes.

“Hermione,” Sirius turned his gaze to her, “what were the first words _you_ said to Harry?”

“I asked him if he’d seen a toad,” Hermione said after thinking for a second. Sirius looked between Ron and Harry, who both nodded. Sirius looked at Ron and Ginny next.

“And you kids all met when you were so young…” he trailed off, and Ron frowned.

“Far too young,” Ron said, and Harry shrugged.

“Its fine, we don’t have to figure out who it is now. Mum and dad were a few months apart, so hopefully if I’m lucky, I’ll know by the New Year!” Harry said, looking between his companions. Ginny smiled brightly, Ron shrugged, Hermione furrowed her brow, and Sirius clapped his hands.

“That’s the spirit! And speaking of spirits,” Sirius said as he hooked his arm around Harry’s shoulders, pulling him back in towards the house.

“I don’t think my body can handle anymore alcohol,” Harry mumbled, and Sirius laughed.

“I’m talking about your present, but that’s good to know.”

(...)

As an increasingly suspicious looking Fred and George snuck down the hallway towards the stairs, Ginny slipped into the study. It had been a few minutes since she’d seen Harry trying to get away from people looking at his arm, and she followed her instinct inside.

“Hiding on the floor isn’t a good plan,” Ginny said as she peeked around Lily’s desk to see Harry, sitting on the floor. He sighed heavily, but didn’t move. Ginny laughed as she sat down next to him.

“I’m exceptionally tired,” he said, and she bit her bottom lip.

“Well, I might as well tell you now, but I think Fred and George are pulling a prank that involves your bedroom,” she said, and he sighed heavily.

“I had a feeling. They’re not that sly when they’re knackered,” he replied, relaxing against Ginny. She smiled at his weight against her side.

“Your parents are wondering where you are, by the way,” she said softly as he shut his eyes, his breathing becoming quieter.

“I told Rose to run interference, but I guess she forgot about you,” he said in a soft voice, his head moving to rest on her shoulder. She laughed to herself.

“You know, I’m usually the one falling asleep against you,” she said, and Harry chuckled.

“You’ve always had a habit of doing that,” he said, picking his head up off her shoulder to look at her. In the dim light of the study, Harry could barely make out the faint freckles on Ginny’s skin, but could see the way her eyes sparkled at him.

“It must be from growing up together. Rose used to fall asleep on the twins all the time, remember?” Ginny said, and Harry laughed at the memory.

“We’ve known each other for a very long time,” he observed, and Ginny hummed in response as she let her head fall to his shoulder.

“Even so, I still didn’t know what to get you for your birthday,” she mumbled, and Harry was reminded of the party happening in the backyard.

“You didn’t have to get me anything,” he said, and she picked her head up off his shoulder to look at him.

“I know, but still. How about… I’ll help you the most with finding out who your other half is?” she offered, and Harry smiled warmly at her.

“I think Hermione’s already given me that,” he joked, and Ginny laughed loudly, covering her face as she tried to keep their hiding place secret.

“Well, she’ll eventually be busy with school work.”

“So will you.”

“Yeah, but this is much more interesting!” she finished, reaching over to grab his arm. He held it out of her reach, and she shook her head at him.

“Come on, enough hiding. It’s almost time for presents!” she said, pushing herself to stand up. Holding out her hand, she helped him to his feet. Harry stared at her for a moment as he let go of her hand, and then shook himself.

“You mean there’s more than your promise to skive off school work to help me?” he said sarcastically, and Ginny rolled her eyes.

“You bet your ass, Potter!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Big shout out to all of you who commented and gave kudos and reblogged and liked! It means so much to me!!! I cannot make any promises with how fast updates are going to be, because that's just who I am as a person, but between work and going to political rallies, I'll find time to write!! Anyway, this goes out to Ana, who isn't allowed to read this until she finishes studying. I hope it's a good reward!


	3. Peridot

The aftermath from Harry’s seventeenth party arrived three days later, well after Molly had finished yelling at her sons for drinking so much, and a day after Lily caught James thinking of a way for Harry to use a pensive to see who said the phrase to him. Lily came home from work, a scowl on her face. She bustled into the kitchen, making far more noise than necessary, and within a few seconds, Harry and Rose were standing in the doorway.

“Mum?” Rose asked, looking hesitant. Lily was rarely this angry around them, and preferred to keep herself in a calm mood around the kids. But now, as Lily poured herself a glass of water, Rose could see her hands shaking.

“Is your dad home?” she asked, and Harry shook his head.

“Dad’s been over at the team facilities all day,” he said, and Lily sucked on her teeth.

“I’ll be right back,” she said, and she disappeared on the spot. Rose looked up at Harry, who shrugged and moved back towards where they’d been sitting before in the living room, playing a game of exploding snap.

“What do you think is wrong?” Rose asked as she sat back down on the floor, Harry joining her. He frowned, looking down at his arm for a second. Rose noticed immediately.

“Do you think she got in a bit at work about you?” Rose said this quietly, as though their mother, who wasn’t there, would hear them. Harry thought for a moment.

“A couple of her work friends were at the party, and it’s been a couple days. I’d assume the gossip has finally gone through the ranks and reached her again,” Harry said, and Rose opened her mouth to speak, only to be interrupted by the sound of Lily reappearing in the living room. Her outward demeanor seemed much calmer now, and Rose looked at Harry with suspicion.

“Mum, are you better now?” Rose asked, and Lily walked over to sit on the couch near her children.

“Yes. I let the gossip at work get to me a little too much,” Lily said, and Harry shot Rose an ‘I told you so’ look.

 “What was it?” Rose asked, and Lily pursed her lips for a moment.

“Oh, the usual,” she started, “but now with the added comments of ‘they’ve made this one up, for sure’”, Lily spat, her eyes venomous as she took in a deep breath. Harry looked down at his feet.

The Potters dealt with quite a bit of publicity, good and bad. Harry and Rose knew the story of Tom Riddle, a deranged wizard who had attempted to become immortal, but hadn’t thought his plan all the way through, and had been taken down by a group of witches and wizards that the Potters had been part of. The story of the Order of the Phoenix was one most magical children learned when they were young.

After what many called The Great Wizarding War, James had been drafted to play for Puddlemere, where he’d excelled and helped lead the team to many wins. After a terrible knee injury, James decided to retire, and was offered a coaching position. Lily had taken a job at the Ministry, where she started in the Department of International Magical Cooperation, where she’d been placed in charge of Muggle relations. From there, she was able to move up in the ranks quite quickly, soon moving into the Department of Magical Law Enforcement.

Both of their jobs put them in the spotlight, and over the years, Harry and Rose had encountered plenty of people who didn’t like their parents. It wasn’t uncommon for Lily to hear about people she’d surpassed talking badly about her, or to hear Puddlemere fans criticizing James’ coaching skills.

However, as Harry stared at his feet, he realized that neither he nor Rose had ever been dragged into the sphere of talk that surrounded his parents.

“Harry, don’t worry about it,” Lily said, apparently reading Harry’s body language. Rose reached over and touched her brother’s shoulder.

“Why would you make this up?” Harry asked, looking up to meet his mothers gaze. Lily shrugged, standing up to walk over to where he sat.

“People don’t like what they can’t explain. I’ve never been forthcoming with my coworkers about the specifics of the relationship I have with your dad, and neither has he. People don’t trust that, want to know more. They make up their own truths, and try to get a rile out of us to see if they’re right. Molly and Arthur deal with all of the same stuff,” Lily explained as she bent down to press a kiss to his head. Harry smiled up at her, his eyes softening.

“I’m sure I’ll have plenty of people trying to get me to talk at school,” he said, and Lily laughed curtly.

“Oh, it’s a madhouse. I’m sure you’ll find a way to escape,” Lily said, a twinkle in her eyes. Rose rolled her eyes.

“Maybe one year, I’d like to use the cloak,” she mumbled, and Harry looked at her with a smug smile.

“This definitely isn’t the year.”

**(…)**

“One year, just one year, I’d like them to not wake me up at the crack of dawn.”

Hermione giggled into her hand as Ginny plopped down onto the couch between her and Harry. Ron came into the living room behind Ginny and perched himself on the arm of the couch next to Hermione, a smug smile on his face.

“The year Mum doesn’t wake you up early on your birthday is the year you move out,” Ron said, and Harry chuckled softly.

“Don’t say that too loud, she’ll hear you and start crying again like she did when Percy turned seventeen,” Ginny said in a rushed whisper, and Hermione looked between Ginny and Ron.

“She didn’t cry when Bill and Charlie turned seventeen?”

“Oh, well,” Ginny started, holding up her hands. Harry was already laughing.

“She was convinced Bill was just kidding, and he wasn’t actually going to move to Egypt to start his career as a curse breaker. When he did move, she didn’t leave her room for a… what, week and a half?” Ginny looked at Ron, who nodded solemnly.

“And then, when Charlie said he’d gotten a job as a dragon trainer in Romania… Mum was beside herself. Dad had a hard time handling the situation, because their emotions are so close together,” Ron said, and Hermione widened her eyes.

“And with Percy?”

“Well,” Harry took this one, bringing the memory forward in his mind. “Percy wasn’t moving too far away, just into London, and Molly was so overcome with joy she cried happy tears for a few hours.”

Hermione laughed at that, before thinking for a moment.

“By all accounts, Ginny, you have another year until your mother cries on your birthday,” Hermione said thoughtfully, and Ginny shrugged.

“Where there’s a will, there’s a way with her.”

The Burrow was cleaner than usual, and a small event tent had been erected by the garden for the festivities. Ginny had invited plenty of people, and since it was the last big party before school started, and Molly Weasley’s cooking was legendary, almost everyone had showed up.

As the sun began to set, Arthur surreptitiously pulled his wife away from the party, following James and Lily inside to where they’d sit around the kitchen table, just close enough to hear if anything had gotten out of hand, but far enough away to let the party actually happen. As the backdoor shut, Fred and George pulled their stash of products and alcohol out from its hiding place, and with a triumphant yell, got the party started.

Arthur and James shared a look at the sound, but sat down at the table with their wives, the game board already set up. Lily had introduced them all to Muggle board games, and the tradition had begun. This time, it was Scrabble.

“So, Lily,” Arthur said as he picked up his tiles, “I heard some talk that there was some major disciplinary action in your department.”

Lily nodded, picking up the glass of wine Molly had poured her.

“A few of my colleagues had become increasingly persistent to know about Harry and his new tattoo, and I do not discuss the matters of my family with many others, so I had to be a tad harsh,” Lily said, watching as James smiled softly at her.

“They wanted to know about his tattoo, didn’t they? It’s a hard line to walk,” Molly said, her eyes wandering to the backdoor as a loud cheer went up through the night air. Arthur covered his wife’s hand with his own, bringing her back to the table.

“They always do. Do you ever feel like there are some people who are just far too interested in it?” Lily asked, causing James and Molly to nod their heads vigorously.

“Most people just let it go, accept it for what it is. It might not be the easiest thing to explain, but they understand that it’s real, and move along. But there are some…” Molly trailed off, her eyes again moving to the light streaming in front the back.

“An article I read, awhile back, said to be wary of those who seek to understand too much,” Arthur said quietly, and James took a sip of his wine.

“I think I read the same article, was it in the small section about souls in the library?” James said, and Arthur nodded.

“Yes, and I always took that advice to heart. The people who usually want to know more aren’t people I feel comfortable around in the first place,” Arthur said as he looked at his tiles. Lily perked up, letting her hand fall to the table.

“Exactly! I just have a bad gut feeling about them,” she said, jumping as a loud noise went off in the backyard. Before Molly could move, Arthur had his hand on her arm, his body relaxing. It took a couple of seconds for the tactic to work, and James smirked at Lily as Molly settled back into her chair.

“Has Harry asked a lot of questions?” Molly asked as James played his word. Lily took score as she thought.

“Not much, but I think he hasn’t realized that pretty soon, we won’t be around to answer them as readily. He’ll be at school, with just the library, which holds all of the information we’ve already told him,” Lily said as James nodded beside her. Molly chuckled, watching as Arthur thought of what word to play.

“Do you have any idea who it is?” Molly’s eyes followed Arthur as he played his word before snapping to Lily.

The Potters looked at each other for a moment, both trying to think of anyone they suspected without a doubt. Arthur watched them before clearing his throat.

“I had a slight idea the other day,” he said, and the three others turned to look at him. Molly spoke first.

“Well, out with it dear.”

**(…)**

 As the cleaning spell Lily and Molly had cast started to work, Ron dragged an increasingly emotional Hermione away from where Ginny sat with Harry in the garden, mumbling something about needing to get her some water and a hangover potion. Ginny giggled into her hands, turning to Harry, who was much sober than she.

“How did you manage to stay – sober with Fred and George on the loose?” Ginny said, hiccupping slightly. Harry laughed as she slumped against him, her hands holding onto his right arm. He could feel her warmth against him and shifted slightly.

“I threatened them. After what they did to my room at my party, I don’t think they wanted to test me,” Harry said softly, and Ginny laughed again.

“Oh, they told us all about the sticking charm and the cold shower,” she mumbled against his shoulder, pushing herself off his side and letting go of his arm. He shivered at the loss of her warmth. She sat back against the bench instead; her head tilted back, eyes gazing up at the sky. Harry watched her for a moment before looking up at the sky as well; his body relaxed as he watched the stars twinkle.

“I forgot to give you your present,” Harry said after a few moments of comfortable silence. Ginny turned her head to look at him as he summoned the neatly wrapped box from his coat pocket inside the tent.

She sat up as he handed it to her, turning so she was facing him as she unwrapped it. She went impossibly slow; unlike she had earlier, knowing he would become impatient. As she saw the beginnings of a slender black box, she looked up at him with a curious expression.

“What did you get me?” she asked, letting the wrapping paper fall. He shifted in his seat, a heat rising to his cheeks.

“Well, I know last year I didn’t get you anything special, and I saw this, and…” he trailed off as she opened the box, revealing a green gemstone hanging from a gold chain. Her breath caught in her throat as she looked at it.

“Harry, you didn’t-“ she began, but he interrupted her.

“It’s Peridot, which is your birthstone. Muggles believe it instills power and brings them magical powers, but who knows about all of that,” he said with a laugh, and she smiled at him warmly.

“You didn’t have to get me this, it looks expensive,” she mumbled, but he shook his head.

“Think of it as making up for all of the weird gifts I’ve gotten you over the years,” he said, and she bit her lip as she stared at the pendant.

“What are you talking about, I loved that sweater your mum totally picked out for me,” she joked, and he rolled his eyes.

“Mum didn’t help me with this,” he said, taking the box from her hands and picking the chain up gently. He motioned for her to lift her hair and she did, holding it with one hand off her neck. She felt him get close to her as he slipped the chain around her, his fingers brushing over her skin as he fiddled with the clasp.

“There,” he mumbled as he let the chain fall against her neck, and she let go of her hair. The smell of flowers filled the air and Harry lost his focus as Ginny turned to look at him.

“Harry, I love it,” she whispered, looking down at where the pendant settled just below her collarbone. Harry shook himself back to reality, looking at the skin her dresses exposed.

“I’m glad,” he said, and she took his hand to give it a squeeze.

“Now my gift of promising to help you find your other half seems insignificant,” she confessed, and he shushed her.

“Last year you gave me those new quidditch gloves that were spectacular, so you’re allowed to go homemade this year,” he joked, and she smiled kindly at him.

“Nonetheless, thank you. It’s lovely,” she said, reaching up and touching his cheek with her hand for a brief moment before letting it fall into her lap. She looked up at the sky again, the stone hanging from her neck catching the light from the house and sparkling at Harry as he looked at her, a feeling of contentment pulsing through him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again, thanks for all of the comments and kudos! I had originally said I wasn't exactly certain on where this would end up going, but I've finally put together the pieces and fleshed out the actual plot. I hope you guys are ready! 
> 
> Anyway, this is the last chapter before they head back to Hogwarts, and so there's going to be less James/Lily & Molly/Arthur. But, the chapters are going to be getting longer, so that's a plus! 
> 
> Also, I want to make a note: I realize by mentioning Tom Riddle, I might be confusing some by having this tagged as a No Voldemort Au, but this is a whole different universe, and Tom Riddle doesn't become Voldemort, nor is he alive at this point. So it's still No Voldy, I promise.


	4. Back To Hogwarts

The rest of summer passed by in a blur, and soon Harry found himself back in Diagon Alley, looking through the required books for his seventh year classes. While James had said there was a good chance Harry could be scouted by a couple Quidditch teams, his parents still insisted he choose an academic career path.

“Still happy you picked the path to being an Auror?” Hermione asked as she walked up next to him, and Harry scrunched up his face.

“I jokingly told Sirius I wanted to be like him one day, and now here I am,” Harry mumbled, causing Hermione to laugh.

“I think it’s great,” Hermione said with a proud smile, patting him on the arm as she moved away, a large stack of books following her. Harry shook his head. Hermione was taking all of the classes she could, already looking at jobs in the Ministry.

“Mum’s kind of disappointed I’ve already picked working with Fred and George in their shop,” Ron said from where he stood in the aisle. He’d told Molly the year before, when the Wheezes had taken off, and Fred and George had finally offered Ron a position in running the shop. They’d offered Harry one too, but he’d turned it down.

“I actually think she was quite happy,” Ginny said as she walked by, her shopping list in hand. Ron shrugged as he moved over to stand next to Harry.

“Are you done yet? You’re the last one,” Ron mumbled, and Harry chuckled. He looked at his list again, and nodded.

“Yes, I think I have everything,” Harry said finally, moving towards the front of the store to pay.

Later that evening, as Harry sat on the floor of his bedroom, contemplating how to pack his trunk, someone knocked on his door.

“Come in,” he called, and as he looked up, he was surprised to see Sirius and Remus standing there, smiles on their faces.

“Hey!” Harry called, standing up and moving to hug both men.

“I’m so sorry I had to miss your birthday, Harry,” Remus said, holding a festive gift bag. Harry shook his head, taking the bag and setting it on his desk.

“It’s fine, Sirius barely made it,” Harry said, and Sirius held up his hands.

“I had to weasel my way out of a couple meetings to come,” Sirius said, looking around Harry’s room.

“What are you two doing here? Where’s Peter?” Harry asked, and Remus grinned.

“Peter had other plans, sends his love though. And we’re here to talk to you about the tattoo,” Remus explained, moving to sit at Harry’s desk chair. Sirius leaned against the desk, and Harry sat on the edge of his trunk.

“What about it?” Harry said, suddenly feeling very wary. Sirius and Remus looked at each other, a look passing between them.

“When Lily first discovered hers, she had a very good idea of who it was, mostly because they were already in that weird ‘We Just Started Dating’ phase, and they remembered their first words to each other. Nonetheless, your mother researched ways to… figure out who had said the words to her, from occulmency to a pensive. We’re here to tell you to be careful,” Sirius said solemnly, and Harry quirked an eyebrow.

“You two? Telling me to be careful?” Harry joked, but his adopted uncles expressions didn’t change.

“Harry, there’s something I have to explain to you, and I want you to really listen carefully,” Sirius began, and Harry swallowed thickly. When he nodded, Sirius continued.

“There’s something happening right now, that the Auror department just got wind of, which you need to be aware of. The handlers of the Dementors have reported a few missing, which is odd for them, and there’s been a few strange attacks in the Muggle world that we’re just hearing about now because they’ve happened in other countries, but people have reported seeing large, dark figures floating over the deceased.

“It’s difficult to get information from the muggle authorities, especially the American ones, but one of the deceased reportedly had a half soul tattoo. Magical authorities have been out to view the bodies, and while muggles claim there’s no cause of death… their souls have been sucked out.

“We’re still trying to piece things together, but with the missing Dementors, and the half souls death, I really want you to be careful this year. News of your new half soul status spread quickly, and your parents were already pretty famous as it is. If there is something happening with souls, I want you to promise me you’ll just stay at Hogwarts, don’t go off and try to fight anything, and let the Aurors handle things. The wards at Hogwarts have already been retrofitted with new protections against Dementors, and no one else can get in as it is, but still,” Sirius finished, taking in a deep breath as he stared at his godson, who was looking increasingly nervous.

“I… okay,” Harry said, faltering. Remus reached out and touched Harry’s arm.

“We just want you to be safe this year,” Remus said softly, and Harry nodded.

“No, I understand, that’s just a lot to take in at once,” he said with a chuckle, and Sirius nodded.

“I haven’t told your parents yet, or Molly and Arthur, because they’ll have to be careful as well, but with you going away, I needed to stress this to you,” Sirius explained, and Harry nodded in understanding.

“Can… can I tell Ginny, Ron, and Hermione?” Harry said, to which Sirius laughed.

“I would be surprised if you didn’t!”

**(…)**

The trip to catch the Hogwarts Express went without incident, which was a new record for the Potters. As Rose and Lily walked ahead, James slung his arm around his son and pulled him in close.

“I know Sirius already had his talk with you,” James said quietly, ignoring the curious looks they got from people as they walked by. Harry nodded, waving at a friend.

“So I shouldn’t have to tell you to be on your best behavior this year,” James said as they walked up to where Ron and Ginny were already standing, both wearing curious expressions. Harry looked at his father in exasperation.

“I know, just, as your father, I have to make sure. Expect your mother to do the same,” James said, pressing a kiss to his sons head before letting go and walking over to Rose.

“What was that about?” Ginny asked, and Harry bit his bottom lip.

“I’ll explain once we’re in a compartment, and Hermione is here.”

After another hushed discussion about being safe, and a lot of hugs and kisses, the Weasley and Potter kids climbed onto the train, Rose disappearing into the crowd to find her friends. Harry led Ron and Ginny to an empty compartment, where Hermione found them less than a minute later.

“So,” Harry said as he case a _Muffalito_ charm on the door.

“Yes, please explain,” Ginny said as Harry sat down next to her. He took in a deep breath, trying to relax before he started. He shifted in his seat and his knee touched Ginny’s.

“Sirius came and told me about something yesterday,” he began, going into a long speech about what Sirius had told him. His eyes didn’t stray from the floor as he spoke, trying to recall all of the details Sirius had told him. When he finished, he knew he didn’t have long before Hermione and Ron had to go do their Head Girl and Head Boy duties.

“And both of your parents reiterated what Sirius said, about being careful?” Hermione asked, and Harry nodded. He looked up finally to see Hermione looking utterly shocked, and Ron’s brow furrowed in thought. When he looked at Ginny, he was surprised to see her mouth open slightly, eyes shining.

“Ginny?” he said softly, and she snapped out of whatever revive she was in to place a hand on his shoulder gently. Her tense shoulders seemed to relax slightly.

“I thought it was weird for mum to be talking to Bill about putting up some new wards around the Burrow,” she mumbled, and Ron looked at her.

“Mum was going to put up wards?” he asked, and Ginny looked at Ron, her hand still on Harry’s arm.

“Yes, she was asking him if he could come help her set up some. I didn’t think much of it, but it’s probably to keep Dementors out,” Ginny said softly, and Ron sat back against the cushions. Hermione sat back as well, her hand reaching over to touch Ron’s knee.

“I’d assume your parents will do the same?” Hermione asked Harry, and he frowned.

“The wards around our house are very extensive to begin with, but I’m sure mum will update them now,” Harry said solemnly, looking out the compartment window as people passed.

The room was quiet for a moment, and Ginny eventually dropped her hand from Harry’s arm to her lap, where she settled against the window. Hermione pursed her lips and looked at Ron.

“We have to get to the prefects meeting,” she said to him softly after a minute, and Ron nodded. He pulled his Head Boy badge out of his pocket and pinned it to his robe, standing up.

“We’ll be back, eventually,” Hermione said, and Harry smiled at her.

“We will not have moved,” he said, and Ginny laughed as she threw her feet up on the spot Ron had just vacated.

“I might take a nap,” she said, dramatically closing her eyes and leaning her head against the window. Hermione rolled her eyes as she opened the door, walking out ahead of Ron.

“We’ll see you,” Ron said, and the door clicked shut behind him.

Harry looked over at Ginny, who still had her head against the window, eyes shut. He scooted closer to her until he was pressed against her, and she still didn’t move.

“Ginny, you’re not actually going to nap,” he said, and her lips twitched.

“Come on, let’s play cards. Besides, we have to see how many first years stop by the window to stare at me,” he said, and he smiled at her lips turned up.

“Well, I can’t nap with you talking nonstop, so close to my ear,” she said, opening her eyes to glare at him. He yelped as she reached over and pushed on him, and let himself fall to the bench with a soft thud.

“Hey, rude!” he said against the cushions, and she rolled her eyes.

“You’re in my bubble,” she said as his foot reached up to push on her legs. She pushed back and he groaned, pushing away from her to sit up again. In the hall, two timid looking first years were staring at them. Ginny poked Harry and he smiled at them.

“Every single year,” he said as Ginny chuckled.

“It’s what you get for having famous parents,” she said as Harry pulled a deck of cards out of his pack. He began to shuffle the deck as Ginny pulled the armrest down between them.

“I’m glad it’s my last year. Then it’s just Rose’s issue,” he mumbled, to which Ginny shook her head.

“Rose likes it, she always says hello and asks them questions.”

“Well, I guess Rose is the friendly one,” he said, splitting the deck down the middle.

As Ginny straightened her cards, she looked at Harry carefully.

“Can I ask you something?” she said suddenly, and Harry met her gaze. Her eyes weren’t shining like they had been a moment ago.

“Of course,” he replied, and she looked at her cards before speaking.

“Are you worried?”

He didn’t have to ask what she meant. With a heavy sigh, he placed his hands down on the armrest and chewed on the inside of his lip.

“A little. But we know our parents, and we know how safe Hogwarts is. And I have complete trust in Sirius’ ability to solve cases,” he explained slowly, putting the pieces together as he spoke. She nodded at him, her lips tilting up in a small smile.

“Well, if you aren’t worried, I won’t worry,” she said, placing her deck in front of her and turning over the first card.

When Ron and Hermione returned later, they walked in to find all 52 cards on the floor, Ginny laughing against the window, and Harry glaring at her. He looked up as his two friends walked in and snarled.

“What happened here?” Ron said, already amused at the situation. There were tears in Ginny’s eyes as she turned to look at them, gasping to catch her breath.

“He- he forgot- he forgot about smoke or fire,” she gasped, reaching up to wipe at her eyes. Hermione laughed then, covering her mouth as Harry glared at her as well. Ron hid his face as he sat down.

“Mate… you taught her that game,” Ron said, failing to keep the laughter out of his voice. Hermione waved her wand and the cards began to arrange themselves into a stack.

“She wasn’t playing fair,” Harry said over the laughter, and Ginny leaned against him as she laughed some more.

“Well,” Hermione put the cards back into Harry’s pack. “If you’re quite finished, we have some information on the Dementors.”

Ginny stopped laughing at once and sat up straight, glancing at Harry quickly before looking between her brother and best friend.

“Oh?” Harry said, sitting forward to rest his elbows on his knees. Ron nodded.

“Yeah, we asked Sprout if she knew about any added protections put into the wards of Hogwarts, and she mentioned that they’d specifically added new detection charms, as well as a ward the Auror department put together for them to keep the Dementors off the school grounds,” Ron explained as Hermione nodded her head.

“She also mentioned that some older students might be offered the chance by their head of house to learn the Patronus charm,” Hermione said, her eyes lighting up with interest. Ginny and Harry looked at each other in excitement.

“Really? Mum said she didn’t learn that until she was in her twenties!” Harry said, and Ron nodded eagerly.

“If there are a few rogue Dementors, they want some of the student body to be prepared. She mentioned Head Boy and Girl, Prefects, and students with an aptitude getting first chance,” Ron explained, and Harry smirked.

“Well, if anyone has an aptitude for spell work,” he said with a smug smile, and Hermione rolled her eyes.

“Either way, it’ll be fun to see if we can produce a corporeal Patronus! I’d love to know what mine is,” she perked up, “wait, Harry, what is your mums?

“A doe, and my dad’s is a stag. They have matching Patronuses,” Harry said, and Ron smirked.

“Isn’t your dad’s animagus form a stag?” he asked, and Harry chuckled as he nodded.

“It surely is,” he said as Hermione turned to Ron.

“Do your parents know their forms?” she asked, and Ron looked to Ginny.

“Aren’t their Patronuses weasels?” he asked, and Ginny stifled a laugh as she nodded.

“I remember asking Mum if hers was a bear, because so many people called her a ‘Mother Bear’, but she just laughed and said her and dad were a pair of weasels,” Ginny explained as Ron chuckled.

“How unfortunate,” he mumbled, to which Hermione shook her head at him.

“I doubt yours is going to be a weasel,” Hermione said, and Ron rolled his eyes.

“With my luck, it’ll be a bright orange bird or something.”

**(…)**

Harry was beginning to think Dumbledore would never speak when the final first year found their seat, and the old Headmaster stood. The Great Hall fell quiet as he looked around the room, his eyes sweeping up and down the tables.

“In an attempt at disclosure, I have some very important information to share with you all,” he began, and Harry looked at Ginny, already knowing what the speech was going to be about.

“Recently,” Dumbledore continued, “the handlers of the Dementors at Azkaban have reported that a few have gone missing. It’s taken some time, but the Auror department at the Ministry has tracked a few, and linked them to multiple deaths, in the wizarding world, and the Muggle world.”

The Great Hall was completely silent as he spoke, and the first years sitting at the tables were looking around nervously.

“I cannot fully explain the aspects of what the Auror’s think is happening, but in the interest of safety, there are new wards here at Hogwarts. As most of you know, Hogwarts is one of the safest places on Earth, and with the help of some knowledgeable wizards, we’ve added new detection spells and charms to help ward off Dementors.

“That being explained, the staff wants to reiterate that, if you do see a Dementor, you are to let us know immediately. We will be teaching the Patronus charm to some upper level students, and will also teach younger students how to shoot off warning spells. If you have any further questions, please ask your houses prefect, or our Head Boy and Girl.”

Dumbledore looked around the room, his eyes briefly landing on Harry before moving along.

“Now, with the serious stuff out of the way, let the feast begin!”

The Hall was silent for a moment more before the talking began, and the food appeared on the tables. Harry barely had time to think about what to eat before Dean Thomas, who was sitting next to him, poked at Harry’s left arm.

“So, Harry, any leads on the tattoo?”

**(…)**

It was much later when Harry sat in an almost empty common room, the fire still going as the older students finally retired for the evening. He knew that Ron and Hermione were out doing their duties, and would be back after curfew. Ginny was sitting next to him, a book in her lap.

They looked up as something made a fluttering noise, and Harry was surprised to see two pieces of parchment flying through the air to where he and Ginny sat.

“What?” Harry mumbled as one of the parchments landed in his lap, the other in Ginny’s.

“It’s a note, from McGonagall,” Ginny said as she unfolded the paper. Harry did the same, and they read their notes before turning to smile at each other.

“You were picked for the Patronus lesson too?” Ginny said, and Harry nodded.

“I was going to be upset if I was left out,” Harry said, folding up the parchment and shoving it in his pocket. Ginny placed her note in her book as she shut it.

“McGonagall wouldn’t dream of leaving her favorite students son out of a lesson,” Ginny joked, causing Harry to laugh.

“I bet she knows that if she didn’t teach me, mum would do it out of spite over Christmas break,” Harry mused, looking at the fireplace.

“What do you think yours will look like?” Ginny asked as she moved to sit closer to him, placing her book on the empty space next to her. Harry shrugged, moving his arm up onto the back of the couch behind Ginny’s head.

“I’ve never thought about it,” he confessed, and Ginny rolled her eyes.

“Come on, with your parents, I bet you’ve thought about it,” she said, looking at him critically. Harry frowned as he thought.

“Rose always said hers is probably a lynx or a fox. She was upset when mum said it couldn’t be a flower,” he laughed, and she rolled her eyes.

“She would ask that,” Ginny said, thinking of the youngest Potter.

“I don’t know, really. What do you think yours is?” Harry asked her, and Ginny thought for a moment.

“Probably something weird. What’s the weirdest Patronus there could be?” she asked, leaning towards him as he thought.

“Can they be magical creatures? Because I think a hippogriff would be pretty weird.”

“Weird?” Ginny looked at him skeptically. “A hippogriff would be awesome!”

Harry laughed, keeping it quiet as the fire crackled.

“Okay then, I don’t know. Maybe a whale or some strange sea creature. There’s some weird stuff in the deep sea,” he said, and she nodded.

“Well, I guess we’ll just have to wait and see then,” she said as she settled back against the couch, her head coming to rest on Harry’s arm as she grabbed her book again. Harry smiled at the warmth from her body and relaxed as well, the year already looking promising.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter caused me some issues, as I had written the train scene, saved it, went to bed, and woke up the next morning to find it gone. BUT I really really liked how this chapter went, and we're really getting into things now. I've really fleshed out the sequence of events, and it's really fun so far. 
> 
> The chapters from here on out get longer, so expect a bit of a longer wait for updates. Also, I've set up a pattern with each chapter and if you can guess it, idk I'll give you a shoutout or something. Ana can't guess though. I've told Ana. Ana would be cheating. 
> 
> Anyway, tell me your favorite parts! Let me know what you think!!


	5. First Lesson

The beginning of term passed quickly for Harry, who was swept up in academics and quidditch enough that he forgot he was also trying to find his souls other half. It wasn’t until October that he took the time to think about it again, all because McGonagall had finally set a time and place for the Patronus lessons.

“How many are going?” Harry asked Hermione one night as they sat in the common room around a table, books and papers spread haphazardly. Ron had his nose in one of his course books, his quill scribbling furiously.

“McGonagall said she’s starting with the older students, so I think it’ll be mostly seventh and sixth years,” Hermione explained as she dipped her quill in ink, her eyes roaming over her potions notes. Harry, who had to write the same potions essay, crossed his arms in thought.

“From what I’ve figured, she chose all of us,” Harry said, jerking his head to indicate the rest of the large group sitting at the tables. Most of the seventh years were grouped together, sharing notes and working on the essays and homework they’d already accumulated. Hermione nodded as she looked through the group.

“Neville was surprised that he’d been picked, but I think he underestimates himself too much,” Hermione commented, turning back to her paper. Ron sat up suddenly, stretching his neck muscles. He turned his head as Ginny returned from her dorm, where she’d left one of her books.

“Everyone in my dorm was chosen. McGonagall wouldn’t leave one of her older students out, she has too much respect for us and our abilities. Plus, I know that the other Heads of House picked all of their sixth and seventh years, and I heard a couple fifth year Ravenclaws were chosen,” Ginny commented as she opened her book, smiling at Harry as he made space for her on the table.

“Rose was chosen,” Harry commented, and Hermione looked up at him.

“She was?”

“Well, yeah. Rose is a Potter. Why wouldn’t McGonagall pick a Potter?” Ron said sarcastically, and Harry threw a piece of paper at him. Hermione shook her head at their antics.

“I’ve seen Rose doing spells, and she’s very good. I doubt McGonagall picked her just because she’s a Potter, she’s a very smart witch,” Ginny said with a glare in Ron’s direction. Ron shrugged, his nose returning to his course book.

The Patronus lessons had spread through the upper classes quickly, and it was the only chatter heard before classes started, or as people sat down to eat their lunch. Harry had overheard classmates from other houses talking about their upcoming lessons as well, and discussions about forms were common to hear in the hallway.

“I hear there’s a betting pool on how many kids in each house can cast a corporeal Patronus,” Dean said, just loud enough above the chatter to capture his housemates’ attention. Hermione rolled her eyes and looked at him.

“That would be unethical,” she said, and Dean shrugged, elbowing Seamus.

“What do you reckon yours is?” Dean asked, and Seamus frowned as he thought.

“Something huge, maybe an elephant,” Seamus said, and Neville rolled his eyes.

“It doesn’t matter the size of the animal, it’ll still do its job,” Neville commented, and Seamus turned to look at him.

“Okay, Longbottom, what do you think yours will be?”

“I’ll be lucky to cast the charm,” Neville said, to which Ginny sat up in a huff.

“Not with that attitude! You can definitely do it,” Ginny said, and Neville smiled at her. Dean and Seamus smiled too, looking at each other.

“Can mine be a soccer ball?” Dean asked, and the table broke out in raucous laughter.

**(…)**

The first lesson took place on a Saturday morning in mid October, shortly after breakfast. Harry was the first to wake, already excited for the day as he walked down the dormitory steps into the common room. He was surprised to see Ginny standing near the portrait hole, and when he landed on the bottom step, she turned to smile at him.

“I had a feeling that was you! Hermione’s already left for breakfast, and I was going to wait for you and Ron,” she said as he walked over to her, noticing with a smile that she was (as always) wearing the necklace he’d given her.

“Ron’s not going to be up for another ten minutes, and neither is anyone else. We might as well join Hermione for breakfast,” Harry said, leading her towards the tower exit with a hand on the small of her back. She smiled up at him as they walked through the portrait hole and into the hallway, his hand dropping from her back.

“Have you seen Rose yet?” he asked, and she shook her head.

“No, but last night she said she was feeling nervous,” she commented as they moved down the stairs. The hallways were mostly empty, as for most this was the first free Saturday since the beginning of term.

“She’ll probably get it before me,” Harry mumbled, and Ginny laughed as she bumped into him.

“Give yourself more credit,” she rolled her eyes at him, and he smiled.

“Who do you thinks going to find out their form first?”

Ginny thought as they walked; the sounds of the Great Hall echoed through the hall as they got closer.

“Either you or Hermione,” she said finally as they walked into the Great Hall, and Harry shook his head.

“You’ll get it quickly,” he said, guiding her again, towards where Hermione was sitting already.

“I don’t know about that,” Ginny said, swinging her leg over the bench to sit down. Harry sat down next to her, across from Hermione, who looked up at them with a smile.

“Don’t know about what?” she asked, and Harry smirked at Ginny.

“Ginny thinks she won’t be able to produce a form quickly,” he said, and Hermione pulled a face.

“Ginny, you’re definitely going to be able to produce a corporeal Patronus! You’re quite powerful,” Hermione said, smiling to emphasize the compliment. Ginny smiled at her friends as she took some oatmeal.

The rest of the oldest Gryffindors made their way down to breakfast slowly, until they were the largest group sitting at the tables. Food was served almost continuously on the weekends, as students slept until various hours of the day, and as the breakfast food began to disappear, Hermione stood up and started towards McGonagall’s classroom. Ron stood as well, and the group followed.

Rose stayed close to Ginny and Harry, the youngest person in Gryffindor to be invited. Ginny eventually linked arms with Rose and broke away from Harry to talk as they walked, leaving Harry to walk next to Neville.

“How’s your Gran doing, Neville?” Harry asked as he watched Ginny and Rose walk up ahead. Neville shrugged, fidgeting with the hem of his sweater.

“She’s doing well, I suppose. Mum and dad keep her company a lot now, which is good,” Neville coughed, “how’s your parents?”

“They’re keeping busy, and are probably enjoying the alone time finally, with Rose and I gone once again,” Harry joked, and Neville laughed, having known the Potters since he was very young.

“Mum said she ran into your mum last week, thought she looked a little stressed,” Neville lowered his voice, and Harry sucked in his bottom lip.

“There’s a lot of stuff going on at her work, and her coworkers have been more annoying than usual since I got my tattoo,” Harry confessed softly, and Neville nodded in understanding.

“I hope she’s doing better now,” Neville said, and Harry swallowed thickly.

“I hope so too,” he said as they reached McGonagall’s classroom, where everyone was already filing inside.

The desks had been pushed to the edges of the classroom, leaving a large area in the middle. McGonagall was standing at the head of the classroom, a rare smile on her face.

“Please, sit on the desks for now,” she said, and the students rushed to find spaces to sit. Harry felt a tug on his arm and motioned for Neville to follow as Ginny pulled him towards where Ron, Hermione, and Rose were already sitting. Neville got up on the desk next to Rose, and Harry hopped up to sit next to Ginny.

“Now, I want to start by saying that I’m glad you all made it today. We’ve been hearing the gossip and talk about these lessons, across all houses, and it’s nice to see so many people are interested in learning an advanced form of magic,” McGonagall started, and the room fell silent. She walked down from where her desk was to stand in the clearing in the middle of the desks, her robes swishing behind her.

“We won’t be starting with the actual spell today, because there are a lot of parts to it. As with most advanced magic, you have to master the feeling behind it before it can be properly cast. If you all remember, this is why the Unforgivable Curses are so unforgivable; you have to _want_ to inflict pain and torture to cast them.

“However, in the case of a Patronus Charm, you have to fight against the effects of a Dementor. Show of hands, how many of you remember the effects a Dementor has on a person?”

All of the hands in the classroom raised, and McGonagall showed another rare smile, this one smugger than the last.

“That’s what I like to see,” she said, and the students laughed softly.

“A Dementor is a very dark creature, and they feed off the happiness of humans. If left around a Dementor long enough, you will be left with nothing but the worst experiences of your life, and become something like a Dementor yourself. They live in darkness, filth, decay, and despair. The only way to fight them off is with a Patronus charm, which counteracts their dreadful effect.

“To cast a successful charm, you first have to know how to move your wand.”

Per McGonagall’s instructions, everyone pulled their wands out of their robes and held them tight. They followed her lead, swirling their wands in a circle, repeatedly until McGonagall was certain everyone had gotten it. Once finished, she returned to her spot at the top of the classroom.

“The Patronus Charm is ancient and mysterious magic, producing a guardian which is a projection of your most positive, happy feelings. To cast one, you have to use all of your might, _all of your concentration,_ while thinking of your _happiest memory_. And I mean the happiest you’ve _ever felt_ , to the point where you still get happy thinking of the memory. It cannot be something that once made you smile, it needs to be deep and meaningful, otherwise the charm will not work.”

The class looked at each other as McGonagall spoke, her words cutting as she repeated her statement. She was looking at them all critically, and only dropped her gaze to fish her wand out of her robes. Holding it in front of her, she closed her eyes and took in a deep breath. When she opened her eyes again, they were bright behind her glasses.

“EXPECTO PATRONUM!”

It was the loudest most students had ever heard McGonagall speak, and they jumped as the sliver light came out of her wand. It swirled in front of her until it took the form of a cat, which proceeded to prance around the room, looking for whatever danger it’d been called upon to protect from. When it made its way back to where McGonagall stood, it disappeared with in a _whoosh._

No one spoke as they looked at where the Patronus had been sitting. Hermione’s face was lit up in excitement, and she was the first to raise her hand.

“Miss Granger?” McGonagall said, and everyone turned to look at Hermione.

“Professor is there a different in strength between incorporeal and corporeal?” she asked, and McGonagall nodded.

“Yes, there is. An incorporeal Patronus is not considered fully-fledged, and while they are still effective in keeping Dementors at bay, they will not drive them off completely. Unfortunately, not everyone can create a corporeal Patronus. It’s considered the mark of a truly gifted magical individual to produce one,” she said as she walked the length of the clearing between the desks.

“What determines the form?” Lavender Brown asked from where she sat, and McGonagall nodded at her as she continued to pace the floor.

“It’s based on your personality. However, if a wizard is also an Animagus, it will take the form of that animal,” she explained, looking at Harry and Rose.

“Does anyone know of any other witches and wizards who can produce a corporeal Patronus?” she asked the class, and multiple hands rose. Harry, Rose, Ginny, and Ron all raised their hands reluctantly.

“Mr. Potter?” McGonagall said, and Harry smiled at her.

“My parents have complementary Patronuses, a stag and a doe,” he said, and a few people in the room gasped softly. McGonagall nodded at him, a barely concealed smile on her face.

“Miss Weasley?”

“My mum and dad have matching weasel Patronuses,” Ginny said to a few laughs. She glared at Seamus and he instantly quieted.

“Ahh, yes, I remember your mother telling me she was hardly amused about that,” McGonagall commented, and even more people laughed softly. Ron’s ears turned slightly pink, and McGonagall moved along.

“Mr. Thomas?”

“Isn’t Dumbledore’s Patronus a Phoenix?” Dean said uncertainly, and McGonagall nodded.

“It certainly is. Having a magical creature as your form is rare, and people consider it to be the mark of a truly powerful being.”

She walked back up to her desk, turning to face the classroom and survey them for a moment.

“I’m sorry to say that we won’t be attempting to cast a charm today, as I want you all to think extensively  about your happiest memory. Think of it as your easy homework assignment. I’ll be letting you know when the next meeting will be, as I’ll make sure to give you your weekends for Quidditch and studying,” she said, dismissing them with a wave of her hand. There were plenty of groans, but the students filed out the door slowly, making their way back towards the Great Hall.

“So,” Rose said as she caught up with Harry, slipping her arm through his. He looked down at her.

“So?”

“What’s your happiest memory?” Rose asked, looking at Ginny, Ron, Hermione, and Neville as well. It was the main topic of discussion as the Gryffindors walked, and Harry was wracking his brain for an idea.

“That’s a tough one,” Ron said, his arm around Hermione’s shoulders as they walked side by side. Harry already had a good idea of what their happiest memories were. With a quick glance at Ginny, who seemed to be thinking exactly what he was thinking, he looked at Rose.

“I’m not sure,” Harry said, and Rose rolled her eyes.

“I wonder what memory McGonagall used. Did you see how her eyes were much brighter, happier, when she went to cast the charm?” Rose asked, and Hermione smiled kindly.

“She is amazing. I’ve never heard her that loud,” Hermione said as they entered the Great Hall again. Most of the school was awake now and in the hall eating lunch. The other houses looked up as all of the upper Gryffindors walked in, knowing exactly where they’d been. McGonagall was the first teacher to get her house in for lessons.

“Maybe the Quidditch World Cup,” Ron mused as they sat down at the table again. Ginny nodded as she sat down next to Harry. Rose, who normally sat with her friends, sat down next to her brother, too eager to finish the conversation to join her friends.

“It’s funny, I can think of plenty bad memories, but no outstandingly happy ones,” Rose commented, picking up the pitcher of water and pouring herself a glass. She poured Harry a glass as well, and he grinned at her.

“I bet mum just thinks of dad,” Harry said, and Ginny laughed into her glass.

“We can always write them and ask,” Ron suggested, and Hermione perked up at the idea. Beside her, Neville was listening as he chewed on some fruit.

“This is going to be a harder assignment than I thought,” Hermione said, sharing a look with Ginny, who shrugged and went back to her sandwich.

**(…)**

Within the week, the other three houses had their lessons on Patronus charms. The morning after the Ravenclaw meeting, an announcement went up in the common rooms, warning that if any upper class students tried to practice before they’d attempted the spell with their Head of House, they’d lose the privilege.

Rose found Ginny later that day, sitting in the library with her head in her hands. She cleared her throat as she walked up, and Ginny looked up with a start.

“Oh, hi Rose, what’s up?” Ginny asked, moving her stack of notes so Rose could sit down across from her. Rose shrugged, placing her pack up on the table.

“I was hoping to get some advice,” Rose said, and Ginny perked up, pushing her school papers into a stack and sending the books she’d grabbed back to their shelves.

“About what?” Ginny said, happy to have a distraction from her schoolwork. Rose sighed and leaned on her pack.

“Well… I mean… what are you planning on doing after school?” Rose said in a rush, and Ginny reached over to take her hand.

“Had that career talk with McGonagall, didn’t you?” she asked, and Rose nodded, tears springing to her eyes. She reached up and wiped at them furiously.

“Yes, and between that talk, and the conversation I had with mum before I left for term, and the O.W.L’s coming up, I feel like I might burst,” Rose nearly sobbed, and Ginny squeezed her hand reassuringly.

“I was very lost after my talk with McGonagall. She pulls in students at the beginning of their fifth year to explain O.W.L’s and how important certain grades are to your future. It’s her way of showing she cares, and wants you to succeed,” Ginny explained quietly, glaring at a second year Slytherin as they stared at Rose.

“I know, but does it have to happen so soon?” Rose laughed, though it came out sounding bitter. Ginny laughed too, shaking her head.

“I remember when Hermione came back from her meeting with McGonagall, and she freaked out for a solid month. She drove us absolutely mad! And then the week before the tests, she did it again, and I think it really tested her friendship with Ron the most,” Ginny said with a grin, and Rose sniffed.

“I don’t even know what I want to do,” Rose admitted, and Ginny shrugged.

“I still don’t really know what I want to do. I’d love to play quidditch, but mum would probably try to end me on the spot if I told her,” Ginny looked off beyond Rose, her eyes glazing over at the thought, and Rose giggled.

“I don’t know why Harry doesn’t want to play quidditch, he’s probably going to have plenty of offers,” Rose said, watching how Ginny’s face changed at the mention of Harry.

“Yeah, well, your brother’s an idiot, wanting to join the Auror program,” Ginny mumbled, letting go of Rose’s hand and straightening her papers again. Rose smirked, and narrowed her eyes as she caught sight of the necklace Ginny was wearing.

“When did you get that necklace?” Rose asked, reaching across the table to pull it free from Ginny’s uniform top. Ginny started at Rose’s forwardness, as though they hadn’t known each other since childhood.

“Oh, Harry gave it to me for my birthday,” Ginny all but mumbled, and Rose quirked an eyebrow.

“How am I just noticing it now?” Rose said absentmindedly as she turned the stone over, admiring how it sparkled in the sunlight.

“That’s on you, not me,” Ginny replied, and Rose let the pendant fall. She was looking at Ginny strangely, and Ginny bristled under the scrutiny.

“What?” Ginny asked, and Rose shrugged, crossing her arms in front of her.

“It’s just a very nice gift,” Rose said, waving her hand around nonchalantly. Ginny rolled her eyes, pushing her chair back to stand up.

“It’s about time,” she joked, and Rose stood as well, biting her bottom lip as she did. Slinging her bag over her shoulder, Ginny looked at Rose critically.

“Are you feeling better now?” she asked, and Rose nodded, the question pulling her out of her thoughts. She’d almost forgotten the reason she’d sought out Ginny to begin with.

“I still don’t know what I want to do,” Rose mumbled, and they began to walk out of the library, passing many students who were looking as stressed as Rose was.

“You surely inherited your mother’s charms abilities. Did McGonagall suggest any careers?” Ginny asked as they exited the library and entered the crowded hallway, dodging students to head towards the Great Hall.

“She thought I’d make a great teacher, which has crossed my mind. She also suggested spell development, which is something I didn’t know was an option,” Rose said, her eyes wide as she looked at Ginny.

“Dad’s mentioned it before,” Ginny commented, and Rose shrugged.

“So, I have those two options. Which require a lot of work,” Rose ran her hand through her unruly hair, a habit that Ginny had learned, long ago, came from James.

“Everything requires work,” Ginny stated, and Rose rolled her eyes.

“I know that, but I don’t want to acknowledge it,” Rose mumbled, stepping closer to Ginny as they finally made it to the Great Hall. They walked in silence to where Ron and Hermione were sitting, rather close. Rose and Ginny shared a look as they sat down opposite them.

“Anything interesting?” Ginny asked Hermione, who was reading the Prophet intently. Hermione looked up, startled by the interruption. She shook herself, handing the paper to Ginny, pointing to an article.

“Read that,” Hermione said quietly, and Ginny looked at the title with a sense of dread.

“More Dementors are missing?” Rose read over Ginny’s shoulder, her voice low. Ginny swallowed thickly.

“Has Harry seen it yet?” Ginny asked Hermione, but before she could respond, a voice interrupted.

“Has Harry seen what?” Harry appeared behind Ginny, sitting down next to her with a smile. He sobered as he looked at Ginny’s face, and then at the paper.

“What’s happened?” he asked, reaching for the paper. Ginny handed it over, watching as he read the short article on the Dementors.

“I’ll have to write Sirius,” Harry mumbled, handing the paper back to Hermione, who folded it up next to her plate.

“Have your parents mentioned anything?” Hermione asked, not aiming the question at anyone specific. Ginny shared a look with Ron, and Rose looked at Harry.

“Mum said it’s been pretty quiet at home,” Ron said, Ginny nodding her head in agreement.

“Dad said the same in his letter, and mum didn’t have much to add on it,” Harry answered, pouring himself some juice. Rose leaned on Ginny with a sigh.

“Well, one thing is certain,” Ginny started, patting Rose on the knee. “I can’t wait for the next Patronus lesson.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi friends! Thank you for waiting patiently for this chapter. I was going to update this yesterday but I had a very long day at work, and then I promptly took a nap when I arrived home, so the day was lost on sleeping. But it's here today, which is okay too. 
> 
> I hoped you liked the first lesson. The forms come soon, I promise. I just thought splitting the lessons up would be more fun, for me. 
> 
> Until next time, lemme know what you think!


	6. Second Lesson

It was the third week of October when Harry woke up to his owl, Hedwig, standing on his nightstand. She had a letter attached to her leg, and her head was tucked under her wing as she slept, waiting for Harry to wake. As Harry fumbled with his glasses, Hedwig stirred, her eyes narrowing as she stared at Harry, waiting.

“Calm down,” Harry mumbled, and she hooted quietly at him. Harry sat up and untied the letter from her leg, digging into his drawer to find her a treat.

“Go, go hang out with the other owls,” Harry said sarcastically, and Hedwig nipped at his hand before she headed back out of the dormitory. Unfolding the letter, Harry slipped on his slippers and began to read it. As he reached the halfway point, he looked over at where Ron slept, snoring loudly into his pillow.

“Damn,” Harry mumbled, standing up and throwing on his coat. He padded out of the dorm and down the stairs, following a feeling he had in his gut. As he came to the common room, he saw the hair of the person he was hoping to find.

“Ginny,” he called softly, and she looked up at him from where she sat. Her eyes looked tired, and Harry smiled at her as he walked around the couch to sit next to her. She was reading a new book, and it sat in her blanket-covered lap.

“What’s up?” she asked, and he handed her the letter from Sirius.

_Prongslet,_

_How’s the quidditch going? You’re poised to win the House Cup for the third year in a row, isn’t that right? You’ve got a good team there, better than James’s professionals I’d say. Don’t tell your father I said that…_

_Anyway, I was glad to get your letter, as I was going to send you one myself. We’ve been following some new leads, and as you mentioned, more Dementors have vanished. It’s hard to track them, because they aren’t actual beings. They leave no physical detection, aside from the obvious path of decay that’s caused by their presence. It’s becoming increasingly difficult to figure out a pattern as well, as they seem to be searching aimlessly._

_The one Dementor we were able to apprehend didn’t fight us at all, which was odd. It didn’t try to suck out our souls, or make us miserable. Being near it has its own dangers, but the Dementor itself didn’t even seem to notice us capturing it. There was another Dementor that we almost captured, and it was so vicious that we had to give up. The behavior is extremely strange._

_We have no solid leads on who has been behind this. But it’s still revolving around souls, and we have a hunch that I’ll tell you later if it’s wrong or right. Let’s just say, I’m glad your parents trust me and are willing to help. The Weasley’s too._

_How’s the search going, by the way? I know you said the New Year, but fingers crossed for earlier, right? It’s a bummer you didn’t already know, but chin up!_

_Say hello to your sister for me and the Weasley kids. Shake Hermione’s hand._

_With love,_

_Padfoot_

Ginny looked at Harry as she finished the letter, the sleepiness disappearing from her eyes as she began to process the letter.

“What does he mean, he’s glad our parents trust him and are willing to help? What kind of theory does he have?” Ginny’s voice rose as she spoke, and Harry reached over to shush her with a finger on her lips. He saw her shoulders relax.

“I don’t know, that’s why I ran downstairs. Ron’s asleep, and I didn’t want to wake him. I’m surprised you’re up so early after last night’s practice,” he commented, and Ginny shrugged.

“I’ve been sleeping weird lately. I’m not dreaming, and I’m sleeping through the night, but I wake up so tired,” she said, reaching up and touching her necklace as she explained. Harry moved closer to her then, wrapping his arm around her shoulder in a comforting embrace.

“Have you talked to anyone about it?” he asked, and she shook her head.

“It started last week, and I was just hoping it would go away,” she leaned her head against him, curling into his side, her body relaxing greatly.

“Well, maybe write your mum about it, see what she says,” he rubbed her upper arm, and she nodded.

“I’ll also ask her what theory she’s helping Sirius prove,” Ginny sounded bitter, and Harry chuckled.

“I’m sure it’s not dangerous, but even so, our parents would do it,” he said with a laugh, and she laughed against him. The vibrations moved up Harry’s chest pleasantly.

“If it has to do with the Dementors…” Ginny trailed off, sitting up slowly and reaching for Sirius’ letter again. Harry watched her as she scanned the letter, mouthing something to herself before looking up at Harry.

“What if… what if they think the Dementor they caught didn’t react because they didn’t have the right kind of souls?”

Harry blinked at her, the morning light coming in from the windows behind her causing a halo around her hair.

“Right kind of souls?” he asked, and Ginny nodded, looking at the letter again.

“He has a theory, and he’s using our parents to help him prove it. What if that Dementor was somehow… trained, to only search for half souls?”

Harry stared at Ginny blankly, letting her realization sink into his head. He licked his lips as he stared at her, his mouth open slightly.

“I thought Dementors had no loyalties?” Harry said, and Ginny shook her head.

“They usually don’t, but what if someone has been able to not only take them away from Azkaban, but train them? They’d have to be very skilled, but I’d assume it could be done,” Ginny thought aloud, and Harry shook his head.

“They’d have to be mad,” he argued, and Ginny shrugged.

“There’s a fine line between insanity and genius, or so dad always says,” she pointed out, and it was Harry’s turn to shrug.

“Well, we’ll have to wait to see what Sirius says, but if they are being trained to only seek half souls, I can only imagine the kind of meeting Dumbledore, McGonagall, and my parents are going to have with me,” Harry said with a laugh, and Ginny rolled her eyes.

“Admit it, you like the attention,” she teased, reaching over and poking his sides. He pushed her hands away, hating that she knew where he was ticklish.

“Stop that,” he mumbled, and she continued to poke at him.

“Stop what?” she asked innocently, batting her eyelashes up at him. He stopped for a moment, looking at her as she reached over and tickled his sides.

“Hey!” he yelped, grabbing her arms and pinning them to her sides. She wrestled against him, pushing up off the couch to topple him over, her body on top of his. He groaned as she shifted and ended up sitting on his hips.

“Ginny, this isn’t comfortable,” Harry said as Ginny wiggled her butt. She laughed, her hair catching in the light as her head tilted back.

“What, having a girl on top of you?” she teased, and Harry grunted in the effort to push her off him. She just ended up slipping off his hips to sit in front of him on the couch.

“Being pinned between you and a board in this old couch was uncomfortable,” Harry mumbled, making a face as Ginny ruffled his hair.

“Whatever you say,” she said, standing up and gathering her blanket and book.

“Where are you going?” Harry asked, at a loss to describe the sudden feeling in his chest as he sat up and watched her wrap the blanket around her shoulders.

“Get dressed for breakfast, of course. I’ll meet you back down here in a bit, okay?” she said with a smile before disappearing up the stairs towards the girls dormitories.

**(…)**

Ron ambled into the Great Hall as Ginny, Harry, and Hermione finished their breakfasts, his hair still messy from sleep. He plopped down next to Hermione, yawning widely.

“Ron, it’s nearly eleven,” Hermione chided, and he rolled his eyes.

“You weren’t part of the workout Harry put us through last night,” Ron mumbled, glaring at Harry out of the corner of his eye. Harry flashed him a smug smile.

“I warned you,” Harry said, looking up as McGonagall walked down the table towards them.

“Professor,” Hermione greeted, and McGonagall smiled at the group.

“Good morning. I have worked out the time of the next Patronus lesson. It’ll be this coming Thursday, after dinner,” McGonagall said quietly, and Hermione perked up instantly.

“Would you like us to spread the word?” she asked, to which the professor nodded.

“I would greatly appreciate that, Miss. Granger.”

McGonagall walked off again, her eyes sweeping over the students gathered for breakfast. Saturday mornings were an unusual time in the Great Hall.

“If the lessons are this Thursday, I’ll have to really think of a happy memory,” Harry said, to which Hermione glared at him.

“You haven’t already thought of one,” Hermione asked, and Harry shrugged.

“I mean, I have an idea, but who knows if it’ll be strong enough,” he said, his eyes darting to Ginny before he went back to his food.

“I’d love to know what McGonagall thinks about,” Ginny all but mumbled, and Hermione frowned.

“Well, while you think of that, I’ll help spread the word,” she said, gathering her things and standing up.

“Where are you going?” Ron asked, swallowing his oatmeal quickly.

“The library, of course,” Hermione replied over her shoulder, already halfway up the table. Harry and Ginny laughed.

“But _of course_ ,” Harry and Ginny chorused together, ignoring Ron’s glare as they laughed.

“You two are really funny,” Ron said into his glass, looking around the Great Hall as he did. He made eye contact with a rather small looking Slytherin, who looked away in a rush.

“Don’t scare the kids,” Ginny said, noticing the interaction.

“Yeah, Ron. You’re Head Boy! You’ve got to set a good example,” Harry joked, and Ron rolled his eyes.

“Not on Saturday,” he mumbled, to which Harry and Ginny laughed again. They were leaning against each other, Ginny’s tucked into Harry’s side. Ron bit his bottom lip as he watched them laugh.

“Are you two finished? I’d like to eat in peace,” Ron said after a bit, and Harry held up his hands.

“We’ll stop,” he said, nodding with Ginny.

“Would you like some reading material though? Harry received a letter from Sirius this morning,” Ginny supplied, and Harry reached into his pocket to dig out the letter. Ron perked up, grabbing the letter from Harry and opening it in a hurry. He read it slowly as he chewed, his eyes widening as he got towards the end.

“What the…” he nearly whispered, looking up at Harry in confusion.

“I know,” Harry said, and Ginny sat forward, resting her arms on the table.

“I think I’ve pieced it together though,” Ginny said, and Ron looked at his sister, waiting.

“Well, out with it,” he demanded, and Ginny rolled her eyes.

“Not here. When you’re finished, we’ll discuss it in the library with Hermione.”

**(…)**

“I heard that Anthony Goldstein was the first to produce a corporeal Patronus,” Hermione said on Thursday afternoon, as the news about the Ravenclaw’s lesson the night before spread through the school.

“What is it?” Ginny asked from behind her stack of library books, keeping her voice low as she walked through the stacks behind Hermione.

“A wolf,” Hermione said, guiding Ginny to the table Ron and Harry were already sitting at, papers and books spread around them.

“What kind of wolf?” Ron asked, moving his inkpot as Ginny placed her books on the table.

“All I heard was a wolf, Ron,” Hermione said, sitting down next to him.

“Was anyone else able too?” Harry asked, and Hermione rolled her eyes.

“You guys do listen to gossip, don’t you? We had a class today with the Ravenclaw’s, weren’t you listening?” Hermione chided, and Harry shrugged.

“For your information, I was not,” Harry said, sharing a smile with Ginny as Hermione rolled her eyes again.

“You know, Hermione, mum always said that if you roll your eyes too much, they’ll get stuck like that,” Ginny said, and Ron covered his mouth to keep from laughing.

“Hush up before we get in trouble,” Hermione ignored Ginny’s comment, opening a course book with an air of dignity.

“I still haven’t figured out my happiest memory,” Harry said, and Ginny bit her lip to keep from laughing as Hermione’s hand twitched.

“Blimey Harry, you’ve got to have one happy memory,” Ron said, reaching over to grab Harry’s potions notes.

“Yeah, but which one is the _happiest_ ,” Harry emphasized, and Ron thought about that for a moment.

“I suppose you can just pick one and see if it works,” Ron said, looking over Harry’s notes quickly before tossing them back. They landed in Ginny’s pile, and she glared at her brother.

“Ron-“

“Oh, will you please be quiet and study already!” Hermione didn’t look up from her books, but the glare was in her tone. Harry laughed to himself as Ginny and Ron glared at each other, making rude hand gestures before going back to their respective homework.

As their area fell into relative silence, Harry stared down at his notes, the lines blurring together. He was wracking his brain for the happiest he’d ever felt, and he kept coming up with memories that weren’t quite it. Sitting back in his chair, he pulled a book with him to make it look like he was studying while his mind wandered.

He thought about his birthdays, and the one time he’d gotten to throw water balloons at Sirius until the Auror had been soaked to the bone. Or the first time he’d played in a quidditch match, the youngest seeker in a century, and won. There were so many quidditch memories, he thought that maybe he could think of them all, and the combined force of his elation would be strong enough to produce a corporeal Patronus.

Ginny shifted next to him, the smell of her hair filled his nostrils, and for a moment, he was transported back to her birthday, sitting on the bench in the garden, and the warmth of her next to him. She hadn’t taken the necklace off since he’d given it to her, and every time it caught his eye, he was reminded of her smiling face as Fred (or George, his memory failed him on which) threatened to smear her face with cake, and her laughter as she smeared it across her brothers face instead. Even now, he knew that if he leaned forward, he could see it hanging from her neck, sparkling in the sunlight, reminding him of her hand on his cheek.

Harry jumped when someone nearby coughed, breaking his train of thought and pulling him back to the studying in front of him, and the Patronus lesson later that evening. He looked at his companions, thankful that they were all focused on their studying, and not the heat on his cheeks.

**(…)**

After dinner that evening, the eldest Gryffindor’s walked in a large group out of the Great Hall and towards McGonagall’s classroom, their voices loud as they all talked excitedly. Hermione was, oddly, quiet as she walked next to Ginny and Rose. The youngest Potter was looking anxious, and Ginny bumped into Rose.

“You’re going to do fine,” Ginny said, and Rose made a face.

“I don’t care about producing a form, I just want to cast the charm,” Rose said, linking her arm with Ginny’s as they got closer to their destination. Up ahead, Dean was talking animatedly to Ron and Harry about quidditch, and Rose hated them a bit for how carefree they were at that moment.

“I feel the same way,” Ginny admitted, pulling Rose’s attention in again. She smiled at her closest friend.

“Is Hermione okay?” Rose dropped her voice, and Ginny rolled her eyes.

“She’s fine, or she will be when she proves she can cast the charm,” Ginny mumbled as they walked up to the door of McGonagall’s classroom.

Seamus pulled it open and everyone walked inside, finding the desks the same as the previous lesson. Ginny pulled Rose with her to where Harry and Ron had sat, Hermione hopping up on the desk next to Ron quietly. The mood of the group had sobered quickly, and everyone was staring to look like Hermione.

“Good evening,” McGonagall said, pulling the attention of the room to where she stood, eyes sweeping over the students of her house.

“I assume you’ve all worked on finding your happiest memory?”

There was a murmur of agreement, and McGonagall’s eyes flashed in what they knew was approval.

“Well, as I can see you are all ready to go,” her voice was dripping with sarcasm, “I’d like you to pair off so we can go over wand movement again.”

Everyone stood and paired off, coming to stand in the center of the room. It seemed that there were fewer desks than last time, leaving far more space for them to stand in.

“Each of you will watch the other perform the wand movement, and make sure to make any corrections necessary. Remember, the movement of the spell is as important as the intent behind it. When you feel each other have the wand work ready, simply stand quietly.”

Harry had paired up with Neville, who had been looking around rather lost as everyone around him found a partner. He’d fought the urge to stick his tongue out at Ron, who was standing next to Hermione, but Ron looked rather calm.

“Ready?” Harry asked Neville, and the other boy nodded.

It was mostly quiet as everyone swirled their arms, wands held straight ahead. Harry stood to the side, making sure Neville’s wand wasn’t pointed directly at him, wary of accidental magic. He watched Rose as Neville finished and it was his turn to practice, her brow furrowed in concentration.

“I think you’re fine,” Neville said after Harry had practiced once, and Harry laughed.

“I think this is more of McGonagall’s way to see who she wants to go first,” Harry said as Rose and Ginny finished, walking over to where they stood, Rose looking much less nervous.

“Hermione will definitely volunteer,” Ginny said, crossing her arms as she watched Hermione and Ron finish. They walked over as well, and they stood quietly as everyone else finished their practice as well.

“Wonderful. Moreover, I see you’ve already grouped yourselves up into groups of about six or seven, so please stay that way. One person from each group can try at a time. Stay spread out along the classroom as you are now, and I’ll be walking between groups to see how you do. Remember, four Ravenclaw’s so far have corporeal Patronuses.”

The energy level in the room shot up as McGonagall walked down from her desk, and everyone started to figure out who was to go first. Harry and Ron looked at Hermione, who was chewing on her finger nervously.

“No, one of you go first,” she snapped at them, causing Ginny, Rose, and Neville to laugh.

“Fine, I’ll go first,” Ron said, swallowing thickly as the group fell back from him, giving him plenty of room. He was apparently the first to be brave enough to try, and everyone in the room looked at him as he held his wand in front of him, eyes shut.

“EXPECTO PATRONUM!”

Silver shot out of the end of his wand, a wall of protection between Ron and the invisible threat. He held his wand up for only a moment longer before letting it fall, looking at McGonagall as she walked over to him.

“Now, Mr. Weasley, was that your happiest memory?” she asked, and Ron sucked on his teeth.

“Yes,” he said, and she nodded.

“Think of it a bit longer, and then try again.”

Ron closed his eyes again, and Harry saw him begin to smile as he fiddled with his wand. The room was silent.

“EXPECTO PATRONUM!”

This time, a creature burst forth, and everyone gasped as a dog leapt around the room, it’s barking silent as it darted through students, leaving a trail of silver light in its wake. Ron’s face lit up as it came to stand next to him, only for a moment, and then it disappeared.

“Good job, Mr. Weasley!” McGonagall cheered, her face lit up in a rare smile as she looked at Ron. “Though, I must say, I’m rather disappointed in the choice of animal.”

The classroom burst into laughter at the joke, and Ron’s cheeks burned red as he smiled as well.

“Thank you, Professor,” he said, and she nodded.

“Now, who else?”

Everyone was much more eager now, and Hermione nearly bounced over to Ron as the room was filled with excited chatter.

“That was amazing! It looked like a terrier,” she said, and Ron beamed at her.

“Well, who’s next?” Ron asked, and Hermione nearly leapt out of her skin.

“I’ll go!”

As Hermione stood still, another voice broke the silence, and everyone looked up to see a fox leaping around Seamus, who was smiling wider than his face seemed to stretch. McGonagall clapped happily, and Hermione looked back down at her feet. It was a moment before she spoke.

“EXPECTO PATRONUM!”

The spell grew, and then a sleek form shot out of her wand with amazing speed, sliding through the air as though it were water. Harry blinked and realized it was an otter, gliding up around the beams before coming down to where Hermione stood, unadulterated joy written on her face.

The otter disappeared, and McGonagall looked beside herself.

“Marvelous!”

Hermione smiled as she walked over to where Ginny stood, giving her friend a happy hug.

“And you were worried,” Ginny said, and Hermione rolled her eyes.

“Well, why don’t you go then,” Hermione challenged, and before Harry could say that he’d like to go, Ginny jutted out her chin.

“Fine then.”

Ginny walked forward as Lavender’s voice rang through the room, a wall similar to Ron’s first try forming from the end of her wand. Near her, Demelza Robins was seeing the same results as Lavender.

Ginny was quiet as she squared her shoulders, her hand gripping her wand tightly. Her cheeks grew slightly pink as she thought, and Hermione could see her biting her lips. When she finally raised her wand, half the room was watching.

“EXPECTO PATRONUM.”

The spell seemed to swell for a moment before the silver wisps congealed together, and Ginny’s eyes widened as the long mane of a mare came into view. It ran around the room, the largest Patronus cast yet, and everyone watched as it seemed to drown out the candle light, basking the room in pale light. As the horse trotted back over to where Ginny stood, it turned its head to where Rose and Harry stood, vacant silver eyes staring at them. It seemed to nod slightly, and then in an instant, disappeared with a swish.

The room was silent as McGonagall looked at where the horse had just stood. She blinked, her eyes adjusting to the change in lighting.

“Absolutely brilliant, Miss. Weasley,” McGonagall seemed breathless, and Ginny looked at her with a smile.

“Thank you, Professor,” she said, turning around to look at Hermione, who looked beside herself.

“Ginny,” Hermione grabbed her friend, “how happy of a memory did you pick?”

“I…” Ginny faltered, looking down at her feet as the conversation picked back up in the room.

“Ginny,” Hermione’s voice is quiet in her ear, and Ginny shook her head.

“The happiest one I have, just like you did, right?”

“No one’s Patronus looked that… bright, Ginny,” Rose said, who was staring across the room to where Parvati was about to try.

“Think of a happier memory,” Ginny said as her cheeks flushed an even deeper red. Harry chuckled at the look on Hermione’s face.

“I thought it was beautiful, Ginny,” he said, reaching over to touch her arm briefly. She beamed at him.

“Do you want to go next?” Hermione pointed the question at Harry, but before he could open his mouth, McGonagall walked up to the group.

“Mr. Potter, a word,” she said, using her arm to remove him from the group.

“Mr. Longbottom, why don’t you give it a try,” she said, and Neville nodded.

McGonagall lead Harry just out of earshot as Parvati’s voice rang through the room.

“I know you’re quite excited to try, but I want to warn you that you might not be able to produce a corporeal Patronus.”

Harry stared at his head of house, his stomach twisting into a knot.

“Why not?” he asked, and she pursed her lips.

“You have yet to determine who your other half is, correct?”

Harry looked down at his arm, and let out a sigh.

“No, I haven’t,” he replied, and McGonagall took a moment to congratulate another student.

“Then I fear you won’t be able to produce a corporeal Patronus. I don’t want to discourage you from trying, but do not be disappointed when there is no form. I do believe you’ll be able to produce one, but not until you find your other half,” McGonagall said reassuringly, and Harry let out a long sigh.

“Thank you, for the vote of confidence,” Harry half joked, and she looked like she wanted to roll her eyes.

“I have the utmost confidence that you will find your other half soon,” McGonagall said, her eyes flickering over to where Neville had a bright wall of silver in front of him. Harry took that as his dismissal, and he walked back over to stand next to Ginny.

“Everything alright?” she asked quietly, leaning against him so he could hear her over the chatter of the room. He turned slightly so she was practically tucked into his side and nodded, the anxiety in his stomach dissipating slowly.

Across the room, McGonagall smiled knowingly.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do dearly apologize for the wait between these chapters. I have been working a great deal, and I'm being trained in a new position, so my brain is officially fried when I get home from work each day. Nonetheless, thank you for your patience. 
> 
> I very very much like this chapter, and it's also one of the longest chapters yet! I hope you all aren't too disappointed with what I did there, but it's worth it! I promise! It's all part of the plan, fam!! Okay, enough of that. Let me know what you think!!


	7. Rumors

By Friday morning, the news of the Gryffindor students who could produce a corporeal Patronus had spread through the student body. The Slytherin and Hufflepuff lessons were scheduled for that night, and there were bets on if the two other houses could beat Gryffindor. Although, with a total of six students producing forms, and the promise for others to as well, it didn’t look optimistic.

Harry hadn’t tried after McGonagall had talked to him, and he’d stood by Ginny the rest of the lesson, trying to keep the attention off him. No one asked him why he didn’t try, and he liked it that way. He spent the next day quietly obsessing over how to figure out who his other half was faster, the realization that he’d made no progress dawning on him that morning.

He’d already been told by his parents that Occlumency  and Legilimency wasn’t a viable option. And, as Hermione had pointed out, a pensive wouldn’t work unless he had the memory in mind, and knew where to find it.

“Try to organize your mind,” she’d said simply over breakfast.

So Harry sat, in his two classes that day, his mind seemingly impenetrable, attempting to organize his thoughts and memories. It hadn’t gone well, especially during Transfiguration, as McGonagall didn’t let him sit quietly.

By the time dinner had come along, he had almost forgotten that he’d promised he’d go flying with a few people. It was Ginny who reminded him as he sat down, his eyes still glazed over in thought.

“Harry, are you in there?” Ginny asked, and he jumped at her voice, looking at her in confusion before shaking off the feeling.

“Yes, what?” he said, and Ginny looked at him critically.

“Are you okay?” she dropped her voice, keeping the conversation between them, and he appreciated that more than he could verbalize.

“I’ve just been trying to organize my memories, it’s a bloody headache,” he replied quietly, and she nodded.

“You do remember that you said you’d go flying tonight, right? Everyone from last year’s team is going to come, and they are very adamant that it’s not going to be a workout,” she chuckled, and Harry grinned at her.

“Just some fun flying,” he said, and she patted him on the arm.

“That’s what we were promised.”

After dinner, the group of Gryffindor quidditch players made their way down to the pitch, talking excitedly about the week. Jimmy Peakes was the first to reach the broom shed, rocking back and forth on his feet as he waited for Harry to unlock it.

“Can we at least bring out the quaffle, throw it around?” Jimmy asked, and Harry shrugged.

“I don’t see why not.”

After everyone had grabbed their brooms, they made it onto the pitch, mounting their brooms and taking to the air with enthusiasm. Ginny took the quaffle from Harry with a smile as she took off, streaking down the pitch towards where Ron was hurriedly setting up at the goal posts.

“Be nice, Ginny!” he called as she faked out her own brother and made the goal, flipping backwards through the air in celebration.

“Why don’t you play keeper, huh?” Ron yelled at his sister, and Harry hung back with Demelza as the siblings yelled at each other for a moment.

“How long should we let them yell at each other?” she asked, and Harry laughed.

“Well, if someone just steals from Ginny…” he trailed off as Dean streaked by him, heading straight for Ginny. She didn’t react in time, and Dean had the quaffle from her in an easy motion. She gave up on yelling at Ron and chased after Dean.

“Keep away from Ginny!” Demelza yelled as she took off too, catching the pass Dean lobbed at her. Jimmy and Ritchie Coots, in true Beater fashion, tried to intercept Ginny’s trajectory, and soon Ginny was yelling at them as well.

“Harry!” Dean yelled, catching Harry’s attention before passing him the ball. With a smile, Harry flew down towards the posts Ron was defending. He saw a flash of red in the fading light and soon Ginny was right next to him.

“Give me the ball, Potter!” she yelled, and Harry shook his head. He broke left, turning in a lazy circle away from Ginny. She switched her heading as well, and was soon chasing after Harry again, a look of pure determination on her face.

Harry saw Dean flying beneath him, and he let himself drop down to where Dean was, leaving Ginny 10 feet above. Harry easily handed the ball off to Dean, who took off down the pitch again. He passed to Demelza, who then floated it into Jimmy’s arms. Ginny stopped mid pitch and stared at her teammates, her mouth a thin line.

“I thought this wasn’t a workout,” she called up to Harry, and he flew down to float next to her.

“It isn’t,” he said happily, and she glared at him. She pulled her hair up into a ponytail, huffing as she let her arms fall.

“Whatever you say, Captain,” she said before taking off again, catching poor Jimmy off guard, and capturing the ball from his hands. Dean groaned loudly, and Ron laughed.

“No more keep away, unless it’s from Harry,” she called as she faked Ron out and threw the ball through the hoops.

“Stop doing that!” Ron yelled at her as he dived to grab the ball. Ginny laughed.

“Get better!”

The rest of the evening proceeded all the same, with Ginny and Ron yelling at each other, and Jimmy and Ritchie proving they were better with a bat. The pitch lights came on after awhile, and that was when they really started flying, daring each other to do increasingly complicated moves on the old school brooms.

“Should’ve brought your Firebolt,” Ginny yelled at Harry as he tried to fly upside down right above the ground. Harry looked up at her from where he lay, rolling his eyes.

“I wasn’t the only one who fell off,” he yelled back, looking up at Ritchie, who shrugged.

“I kinda gave up, really,” he admitted, causing everyone to laugh.

Demelza flew up to Ginny and whispered something in her ear, and as Harry remounted and took off, he watched as the two girls let themselves fall backwards, holding onto their brooms by only their knees.

“What the hell?” Ron said, watching as Ginny started to move around the pitch. Demelza was laughing too hard to focus, and soon she was trying desperately to grab her broom. Ritchie and Dean flew over to help her right herself while Harry watched Ginny, her face turning bright red as the blood rushed to her head.

“I think I’m going to be sick,” Ginny called as she moved closer to the stands, and Harry flew over to her to help. She came up too fast, and she fell back against Harry’s chest, breathing heavily.

“Whoa there, you okay?” he asked, moving them down towards the stands easily. She nodded, though her eyes were shut. When Harry’s feet touched the seats, he let himself stand and catch Ginny, holding her in his arms as her broom dropped near his.

“Here, sit down,” he said, laughing as she grasped at the seat he put her in. He looked over his shoulder to see Ron shaking his head, and the rest of the team tossing the quaffle between them lazily.

“I might have stayed upside down too long,” she slurred, laughing at herself as she opened her eyes. She stared at Harry for a moment, blinking slowly, before smiling.

“Ah, there’s finally only one of you,” she mumbled, and Harry laughed as his stomach fluttered. In the bright lights of the pitch, the pendant on her neck seemed to sparkle.

“Are you ready to fly again?” he asked, and she widened her eyes at him.

“Always,” she replied, standing up and holding onto his arm for only a second before her broom sprang back up into her hand.

“You’re not going to do that again, are you?” Harry asked as he too mounted his broom. Ginny shrugged.

“I’m still contemplating it,” she said as she took off, and Harry shook his head.

“Please don’t!”

**(…)**

“Did Ron and Ginny fill you in on the Patronus lessons?”

Molly and Arthur both nodded from where they sat, across the table from James and Lily. The late October air was attempting to push at the warming charms Lily had placed on the back deck, and the breeze made the candles on the table flicker.

“Yes, we’re so proud of them both!” Molly exclaimed, sitting up in her seat to pour herself more wine.

“Ron’s is a dog, he said it looked like a little terrier, and Ginny’s is a magnificent mare,” Arthur said, and Lily’s eyes lit up.

“Magnificent mare?” she teased, and Arthur rolled his eyes.

“Those were her words, she said her Patronus was quite bright,” Molly filled in for her husband, and they chuckled softly.

“They didn’t mention Harry or Rose, how did they do?”

James and Lily shared a look as James shifted in his seat.

“Well, Harry didn’t try…”

“What?” Molly asked, glancing at Arthur briefly.

“McGonagall pulled him aside, and said that she didn’t know if he’d be able to produce a corporeal Patronus until he finds his other half, and I think instead of trying and everyone knowing he can’t produce one, he just didn’t try at all,” Lily explained, biting her bottom lip as she finished.

“I don’t blame him, though he did sound a bit down about it,” James said as he reached over to take Lily’s hand.

“Did Rose try at all?”

“Yes! Her form is an owl!” Lily answered excitedly, and Molly clapped her hands.

“How wise,” Arthur said, tipping his glass at James. Lily chuckled as the candles on the table flickered in the breeze.

They were quiet for a moment as the last colors faded from the sky and the stars began to peek through. Somewhere nearby, a dog was barking and kids were squealing. Molly poured out the rest of the bottle of wine and sent it into the house with a flick of her wrist.

“Is Harry any closer to figuring it out?” Arthur broke the silence first, though not out of discomfort.

“I don’t think so,” James said with a laugh, and they joined in.

“How much longer do you think it’ll be?” Molly asked.

“Sirius said he think it’ll be after Christmas, and I think he’s right. They’ll be apart long enough for Harry to start feeling the… ache, and when they see each other again, it’ll click,” Lily explained with a smile. Arthur and Molly shared a look.

“So before the New Year?” Arthur tipped his glass towards James, tapping their glasses together.

“Before the New Year.”

**(…)**

October turned into November with a blast of cold air that made its way into the castle, nipping at exposed skin and forcing students to dig their hats and gloves out of their trunks. The first was a Saturday, and despite the chilling wind, Harry had persuaded the Gryffindor team out onto the pitch for another workout.

“Hufflepuff is going to have a new set of beaters this year, and we all know their last ones weren’t the best, so I can guarantee they’re going to try to find some considerable talent,” Harry said to Ginny as they looked over their playbook. Ron was practicing with Dean and Demelza on the hoops, occupying time before Ginny started another drill. Jimmy and Ritchie were high up in the air, working on hand signals they’d perfected the previous year.

“They’re previous beaters we’re fine, it was just really easy to pick up on their signals. They could learn a thing or two from Slytherin’s beaters, I could never figure them out,” Ginny mumbled, leaning against her broom as they talked.

“Well then, go over the play that always faked them out, they’re the biggest competition anyway,” Harry said, closing the book and setting it down on the ground. Ginny nodded as she took off into the air, yelling at Dean and Demelza to join her. Harry watched as they talked for a moment, Ginny’s face animated. There was a moment of agreement, and then they were off.

Harry flew up into the air, watching as his team flew around the pitch. Jimmy and Ritchie, despite knowing the chaser drills, tried to play dumb and intercept Dean as he flew around Ginny. Ron didn’t stand a chance as Demelza, having caught the fake, threw the ball through the hoop.

“You know I hate that play!” Ron yelled, and Dean laughed.

“That’s why we run it on you! Good practice,” he said, high fiving his other chasers. Harry laughed as he flew higher above the pitch, his eyes moving around the area. Hermione was sitting in the stands, a book in her lap, her head ducked against the wind. She’d originally said she would be in the library, but an hour into their workout, she’d shown up and sat down with her book. Neville was there with Hermione, watching the team and taking notes.

“Hey, what’s that?”

Harry looked up at the sound of Ginny’s voice, following her outstretched hand towards the edge of Hogwarts wards. There, off in the distance, was a black dot, hovering above the ground.

“No way!”

“Is that-“

“A bloody Dementor?” Ron finished Dean’s sentence, flying up to where Harry and Ginny were. They stared at the creature, obviously trying to push at the edges of the wards.

“Should we tell someone?” Demelza asked, and Harry nodded.

“They probably already know, but when we get back to the castle, we’ll let someone know. At least the wards are working, right?” he said, looking between his teammates. Ginny’s eyes were glazed over, and Harry reached out to grab her as she started to list forward.

“Ginny,” he whispered, and she snapped out of her daze.

“Sorry, what?” she replied, looking up at him.

“Nothing,” Harry said, staring at her a moment longer before looking back at the Dementor.

“Where’d it go?” he said, and Ron pointed in a different direction.

“It’s trying to get inside,” he said, and Harry looked at where it was now, closer to them, but still outside of the wards.

“It looks like it’s struggling,” Ginny said, and Dean snorted.

“Well, yeah. It’s trying to get past an invisible wall, and its eyesight is based on souls. It can probably smell us from there,” Dean joked, and Ginny rolled her eyes.

“I wonder how long it’ll be before some Auror’s show up,” Harry mumbled, and Ron shivered next to him.

“Well, I’m not going to wait around to find out,” Ron said, dropping in the air towards the ground.

“It’s time for lunch!” Ron yelled as he reached the ground, and Harry heard Hermione laugh from the stands.

“I suppose he’s right,” Harry said, looking at the rest of his teammates. They all smiled at each other and headed in the same direction as Ron. Ginny stayed next to Harry, her eyes staring at the Dementor as it flailed against the wards.

“Ready for lunch?” Harry asked, and she looked at him, seemingly surprised to find he was there.

“Yeah, of course,” she hurried away from Harry, and he watched her go in confusion.

**(…)**

“I can’t wait for Christmas,” Rose mumbled two weeks into November, falling onto the couch dramatically next to Ginny. Hermione laughed from where she sat in an armchair, books floating around her as she studied.

“We still have over a month to go,” Ginny said, turning her head to look at Rose.

“That’s far too long,” Rose complained, making a sad face at her friends. Hermione offered a half hearted smile as she returned to her reading.

“What are your plans for the holiday?” Hermione asked without looking up, flipping the page of one of her books.

“We’re going to Romania to see Charlie, but I bet you already knew that,” Ginny said, watching as Hermione’s face froze. She looked up slowly, dramatically rolling her eyes at Ginny.

“I was asking Rose,” she retorted, causing Rose and Ginny to laugh.

“Of course you were,” Ginny mumbled, and before Hermione could respond, Rose held up her hands.

“I think we’re going to France to see dad’s parents, and take them skiing,” Rose said, and Ginny laughed.

“I would think they had enough of that last year,” Ginny said, and Hermione covered her face as she snorted loudly.

“Papa knew what he was getting into,” Rose said, and Hermione laughed louder.

“My parents tell that story at parties! It’s quite popular,” Hermione said, and Rose rolled her eyes.

“Well, this time, there will be no unplanned shenanigans! They know what to expect,” Rose said, laying her hands flat on her lap and looking at Ginny.

“The New Year’s party is still happening at your house, right? We can’t break tradition now! It’s been ten years,” Ginny said, and Rose nodded.

“Mum and dad would not miss that. You’re coming, right Hermione?” Rose turned to Hermione, who nodded.

“Of course! I think my parents are coming as well. I was able to convince them to skip their work party this year,” she smiled, and Rose clapped her hands.

“Wonderful! And you’ll finally be able to introduce them to your _boyfriend_ , Ron Weasley!”

“They’ve met Ron before!” Hermione retorted, keeping her voice low.

“Yes, but this time, it’ll be as your _boyfriend_ ,” Rose teased, and Ginny bit her lip as Hermione’s face turned red.

“Shut up, Rose,” Hermione said, looking back at her books.

“Oh, come on! We’re teasing you because we love you,” Rose looked at Ginny, who shook her head.

“You’re the one doing the teasing, I’m staying out of this,” she said, and Rose narrowed her eyes.

“Why, afraid of getting the same treatment?”

Hermione looked up at that, her eyes going wide and her mouth opening slightly.

“Who are you talking about, Rose?” Hermione asked, and Ginny rolled her eyes.

“There’s no one-“

“Oh, puh-lease. I’ve heard the gossip about you and my brother.”

Hermione nearly shrieked as Rose crossed her arms, and Ginny’s face turned tomato red. Her expression didn’t change as she stared back at Rose.

“What gossip?” she challenged, and Hermione was suddenly sitting on the arm above Ginny, hair falling into Ginny’s face.

“Yes, what gossip?” she asked, pulling her hair over her shoulder as Ginny batted at her.

“Well, I was in the library the other day when I heard some 4th years talking about how sad it was that Harry Potter wasn’t available any longer. So, naturally, I asked them what they were talking about, and the word is that you and Harry started dating over the summer and that’s why you’re closer than usual,” Rose summarized, and Ginny pursed her lips.

“Did you tell them that’s not true?” she asked, and Rose shrugged.

“I didn’t say anything,” Rose said, and Ginny sighed heavily.

“You’re a big help,” she mumbled, reaching down to grab her book off the table.

“Well, you two are close,” Hermione said, and Ginny rolled her eyes.

“We’ve always been close,” she countered, and Hermione shrugged.

“Besides,” Ginny started, “he has the tattoo. So his dating options are pretty limited to whoever is his other half.”

As Ginny looked down at her book, Rose widened her eyes purposely at Hermione, who simply shook her head.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is, admittedly, a filler chapter at it's core, but it's still here for y'all to read. Again, I apologize for the wait, but life is very hectic. The next chapters will be more... plot driven. Thanks for reading!


	8. December

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For mi madre, Ana.

“Happy December 1st,” Rose said as she sat down next to her brother on a couch in the common room, a scarf wrapped tightly around her neck. Harry rolled his eyes at her, pulling his books closer to his body to give her more room.

“You know, with each month that passes, we just get closer to the big exams,” he said, and Rose closed her eyes as she shook her head.

“I didn’t hear a word you just said, I’m in France skiing,” she said, tapping her temple with her finger. Harry chuckled as she pulled her knees up to her chest.

“Have you done any school work in the past month?” Harry asked, and Rose nodded slowly.

“I think I did an essay… last week?” she counted on her fingers. “Yeah, last week. Tuesday, I believe.”

“The first question mum is going to ask you is how your studies are going,” Harry mumbled, and Rose reached over to shove him gently.

“Yeah, and what’s the first question they’re going to ask you? How’s the search going, lad? Any prospects on our future daughter-in-law?”

“Oh, shove off,” Harry replied, and Rose laughed against her knees.

“Your ears are red,” she teased, reaching over to poke at the side of his head. Rolling his eyes, he swatted her hand away.

“Yours would be too if you hadn’t even graduated school yet and people were planning your wedding,” he retorted, and she rolled her eyes back.

“Mum’s been planning our weddings since we could talk,” she wrapped her arms around her knees again and rested the side of her head against them. Harry looked at her as he laughed to himself.

“I told them that I’d hopefully have it figured out by the New Year, and now I’m not so sure,” Harry said, glancing at his arm. The words were barely visible, peeking out from under his shirtsleeve.

“Have you actually been trying to figure it out?” Rose asked, her tone becoming serious. Harry shrugged, forgetting the homework in his lap.

“I guess…” he trailed off, pointedly ignoring the look Rose was giving him, the look she’d stolen from their mother.

“Harry,” she sighed, and he sat back against the cushions.

“I guess, at this point, I’m just hoping the other person turns 17 and then it’s figured out for me,” he said, and she nodded.

“You said you’ve already tried to find the memory?” she asked, and he made a face.

“Yeah, and gave myself a bloody headache,” he reached up to touch his temples, remembering the inadvertent pain he’d put himself through.

“And I suppose the idea of someone using legilimency on you is out,” Rose mumbled, and Harry shrugged.

“I think Sirius jokingly offered to do it, but then mum found out, and sent me a letter about how it can be quite dangerous unless the other person is a master,” he explained, and Rose frowned.

“And we don’t know any masters?”

“I heard Snape is skilled…” Harry trailed off, and Rose shook her head.

“Not happening,” she said, and Harry held up his hands in a sign of defeat.

“So, we’re back to square one,” he mumbled, and Rose reached over to touch his arm.

“I believe, when you figure out who it is, you’ll be pleasantly surprised,” she said as she stretched out and stood up, her hand ruffling his hair.

“You say that like _you_ know who it is,” he said as she walked away, shooting him a thumbs up over her shoulder as she went.

Rolling his eyes, he looked back down at his books, though he was sure he wouldn’t be able to study for awhile after that conversation.

**(…)**

The library had become something of a second dorm for some of the older students as the term progressed. December found groups of 5th years grouped together on the floor in the stacks, sharing notes and helping each other write essays. Hermione, having practically lived in the library since 4th year, sat at the same table every day, nose in a book, and it was unofficially her assigned table among the students.

“If those 3rd years don’t quiet down,” she mumbled to Ron and Harry as they sat, books piled high around them. Ron reached over and rubbed her back for a moment before going back to writing his essay, blinking hard as he stared at his parchment.

“I’m sure they’ll settle down in a minute,” Ron replied, and Harry watched out of the corner of his eye as Hermione leaned against Ron for a moment and sighed. He smiled to himself as he sorted through his arithmancy notes.

They were quiet again as they went back to their work, and the group of 3rd years quieted down as Madam Prince walked the stacks, her face sharp as she eyed the students sitting in groups. Harry thought he saw her smile at Hermione as she walked past, but he was also very tired, so he wasn’t sure.

“Oh, here you are.”

Harry looked up as Ginny walked up to the table, her bag slung over her shoulder. She smiled at him as she approached, setting the books in her arms down on the table softly.

“Were you looking for me?” he asked quietly, and she nodded.

“Well, not me specifically. Dumbledore asked me to relay a message. He’d like to see you in his office, and he finds he enjoys a peppermint stick this time of year,” she whispered to him as she sat in an empty chair, and Harry narrowed his eyebrows.

“How did he know you’d see Harry to give him the message?” Ron asked from across the table, interested in any conversation that didn’t revolve around coursework. Hermione pointedly ignored them, turning a page of her Transfiguration book loudly.

“I don’t question Dumbledore’s ways,” Ginny joked, and Ron rolled his eyes. Harry happily packed his things into his bag, leaving a pile of his notes for Ron to use.

“I wonder what he wants,” he mumbled, wary of Madam Prince roaming the stacks. Ginny shrugged as she unpacked her supplies.

“I expect to hear all about it,” she said, reaching up to squeeze his arm before waving him off, and he grinned at her as he turned to walk away.

It didn’t take Harry long to walk the halls and find the gargoyle that guarded Dumbledore’s office. As he walked up the stairs, his ears could pick up the sounds of animated talking, and as he rounded the last corner, he recognized his parents’ voices.

“Harry! There you are,” James said as he caught sight of his son, standing up to give Harry a hug.

“What’s happening here?” Harry asked as Lily, and then Sirius, walked over to give him a hug as well.

“Well, we needed to talk to you and it apparently,” James glared at Sirius, “couldn’t wait until the holiday.”

Sirius shook his head as Harry noticed Dumbledore sitting at his desk, McGonagall standing behind him. Taking the proffered seat, Harry looked around the room.

“Is it about the Dementors, and that idea you told me about months ago?” Harry looked at Sirius as he spoke, and his godfather nodded.

“Can’t get anything past you, can I?” Sirius joked, and Lily shook her head. McGonagall seemed to be holding back a smile as she watched.

“Haven’t yet,” Harry mumbled, and Dumbledore cleared his throat to gather the attention of the room.

“As you have astutely deduced, Harry, this meeting is about the Dementors, and their increasingly peculiar behavior,” Dumbledore began, bringing his hands in front of his face.

“Sirius has informed me of a theory he’s tested, one which he assumes you’ve already figured out,” Dumbledore looked right at Harry, who nodded slowly.

“Ginny figured it out, actually,” he mumbled, and no surprise showed on the headmasters face.

“What did she figure?” Sirius asked from his seat near the fireplace.

“That the Dementors had been trained to seek out half souls,” Harry stated, and Sirius looked impressed.

“Right smart, that one is,” Sirius shifted in his seat. “She’s absolutely right, and we were able to prove that by bringing your parents into the area of the one we were able to capture, that wouldn’t attack any Aurors. It immediately became aggressive and tried to perform its Kiss on Lily.”

Harry looked at his mother, and she grinned at him.

“Nothing a little Patronus can’t handle,” she said, and James laughed quietly next to her. Sirius cleared his throat, pulling Harry’s attention back to him before he spoke.

“With this confirmed information, we’ve informed all of the half souls we’re aware of and increased security against Dementors in most wizard areas. We’re also working with Muggle authorities, to try to prevent the murders we saw in America,” Sirius explained, and Harry could feel the anxiety rising in his stomach. He felt Lily’s hand on his shoulder and smiled at her quickly.

“I know we all already talked to you, at the beginning of the year, about being safe, but now it’s doubled. We know that there are more Dementors out there, that we cannot seem to track, and not to put a damper on your holiday plans, but you have to stay alert. Constant vigilance!” Sirius said, his tone as solemn as Harry had ever heard.

“I… I never even tried to cast a Patronus charm,” Harry said, and McGonagall stepped forward.

“Before you go home for the holiday, I invite you to come to my office and you can practice, out of the group experience,” she offered, and Harry smiled gratefully at her.

“Thank you, Professor,” he mumbled, suddenly feeling very overwhelmed.

“When you come back from holiday, we’re going to mandate that you have a professor with you at your quidditch practices. We’ve seen that the Dementors cannot get through the wards, but we need to be sure,” McGonagall said, and Harry nodded at her.

“Understandable,” he said, looking at his father as James reached over and touched his shoulder.

“You’re taking this all very well,” James said, and Harry shrugged.

“It’ll probably hit me when I explain it to someone else,” he said, and there was a general agreement around the room. Dumbledore was watching Harry carefully.

“Harry, might I ask… have you had any luck on figuring out who is your other half soul?”

Harry bit his lower lip and suppressed a sigh. Sirius had a strange twinkle in his eye.

“No, but I haven’t given up yet,” he said, trying to sound optimistic. He caught McGonagall sharing a knowing look with his parents, and he looked between them.

“Is there something you know, that I don’t?” he asked, and Lily shook her head. McGonagall laughed softly.

“I’m merely thinking of how lucky your parents were, to have already been so close and in love,” McGonagall said, and Sirius covered his face to contain his laugh. Dumbledore tilted his head as he smiled.

“Ahh, yes, I do remember. I had my suspicions, a gut feeling if you will, that I was going to witness another couple with half souls. Hogwarts seems to be the school of choice for this kind of thing,” Dumbledore commented, and James laughed.

“We don’t mean to cause you more stress, Harry,” James said, and Harry laughed as he shook his head.

“It’s okay, dad. I’m just looking forward to holiday a lot more now,” he said, and Sirius reached over to clap him on the shoulder.

“Well, I think we’re all done here now, you can get back to your studies. Can’t get into the Auror program on poor grades, now can you?” he said, and James crossed his arms.

“Oh really?” James said, and Lily rolled her eyes.

“We’ll see you soon, okay?” she said, standing with Harry and giving him a kiss on the cheek as he went back down the stairs, waving over his shoulder as his father and godfather teased each other.

**(…)**

“I wish I could’ve given up potions years ago.”

“A lot of wish that, Neville,” Ginny said as they walked down the hallway from the library, hurrying towards the Gryffindor tower to meet curfew.

“You would think someone like me would excel at it,” Neville mumbled, kicking at the ground. Ginny rolled her eyes.

“I believe, if we had a nicer instructor, things would be different,” she said, reaching over to pat his arm. He smiled at her before letting out a long sigh.

“It’ll finally be over soon,” he said, and Ginny rolled her eyes.

“Aren’t you _so_ lucky,” she teased, and he laughed at her. As they rounded the corner, the Fat Lady in sight, Ginny felt something brush past her. Biting her bottom lip, she cleared her throat.

“Neville, can you do me a favor?” she asked, and he looked at her. She’d stopped walking, the Fat Lady staring at them from where she sat in her frame.

“Sure, what’s up?” he asked, and she took her bag off her shoulder and held it out to him.

“Could you hide this in the common room for me?” she asked as he took it, his face twisted up in confusion.

“Sure, but aren’t you coming inside?” he asked, and she looked over her shoulder, down the hallway.

“Not for a bit, I have to do something,” she said, and Neville narrowed his eyes at her.

“After curfew?”

“I’ll be fine, thanks Neville,” she said, turning on her heel and moving down the hallway. She slowed as she heard Neville give the password and enter the tower. Looking around, she sighed heavily.

“Harry,” she said, and she heard him laugh. She jumped as the cloak swung around her and turned on the spot to glare at Harry.

“I hate when you do that,” she said as her heart raced, and he laughed at her softly.

“I try not to scare you,” he said, pushing on her slightly and leading her down the hallway. He had the Marauders Map in his hands and he crouched down as they walked to keep their feet hidden.

“Where are we going?” she whispered, and he shrugged. Their arms bumped as they walked, and Harry slipped an arm around her shoulder to make things easier.

“Well, Ron and Hermione are… disposed at the moment, as far as the map tells me, and I needed to talk to you and them, but the common room is also very crowded…” he trailed off, stopping as he reached the tapestry he was looking for. Ginny pulled the fabric aside and stepped into the passageway ahead of him, shivering as the invisibility cloak slide off her shoulders. Harry came up behind her, his wand tip lit, and pushed her along until they were away from the opening.

“So you decided to scare me and take me to a secret passageway to explain things?” she said, and Harry rolled his eyes.

“You can act annoyed, but I know the Weasley in you enjoys being out after curfew,” he said, and she smirked at him.

“So, what did Dumbledore have to say?” she asked, leaning against the wall. Harry reached up to stick his wand into the wall, its tip the only source of light, and leaned against the wall next to her.

“Actually, when I got there, it was my parents, Sirius, McGonagall, and Dumbledore,” he said, and she sucked in a breath.

“What did you do?” she teased, and he rolled his eyes.

“Actually, it was about the Dementors and that letter Sirius sent me awhile ago,” he said, and she moved a little closer to him as a chill ran through the chamber.

“The one about using our parents in his theory?” she said, her voice sounding bitter, and Harry put his arm around her shoulder again.

“You were right, about his theory,” he said, and she blinked at him.

“I was? The whole thing?”

“Well, you were right that the Dementors were only after half souls. Sirius brought my parents in, and it tried to perform the Kiss on mum.”

“So it was a meeting to tell you to be extra safe?” Ginny asked, the sarcasm evident in her voice. Harry shrugged, rubbing his thumb on her arm as he thought.

“That, and to let me know what’s going on, I suppose,” he said, and Ginny turned slightly as she looked at him.

“It couldn’t wait until holiday?” she asked, keeping her voice low. Standing as close as they were, talking any louder than a mumble was too loud.

“I think Sirius wanted to inform me with Dumbledore and McGonagall there, so I would understand why a professor now has to be present at our Quidditch practices, and stuff like that,” he said, and she pulled a face.

“Every practice?” she asked, and he shrugged. He looked down at her and felt his stomach flip at how close they really were.

“It won’t be terrible, as long as it’s an impartial professor,” he said, and she giggled.

“I don’t think McGonagall would let any head of house watch us practice. She takes Quidditch far too seriously,” she said, and Harry nodded. The thought of McGonagall brought up something from the meeting, and  Ginny waited for him to speak as his face changed.

“You know, speaking of McGonagall, I think she knows something I don’t,” Harry began, causing Ginny to frown.

“I think she knows a lot of things you don’t,” Ginny mumbled, causing Harry to glare at her. She bit back a smile as he continued.

“No, I mean about my tattoo,” he said, and Ginny thought about that for a moment. The warmth from his body was just enough to distract her from coherent thinking.

“What about your tattoo?”

“I’m not sure, but when I was saying that I hadn’t given up looking yet, she and mum shared a look as if they know something,” he said, thinking over the moment in his head. Ginny shrugged, jostling Harry from his thoughts. He looked down at her right as she yawned.

“She saw my parents, and then your parents, go through Hogwarts, and I bet when she goes through her memories, she can find moments that foreshadowed their half soul status,” Ginny said, reaching up to rub her eyes. Harry watched her, reminded of a younger Ginny doing the exact same move many times before.

“We should probably go back,” he said quietly, reaching up to grab his wand from where he’d stuck it. Ginny nodded, looking slightly apologetic. The loss of warmth from Harry had woken her up slightly, and she blinked as she looked down the passageway.

“It’s been a very long day of studying and more studying,” she said, slipping under the cloak as Harry held it up. Being under the cloak warmed her up again, and she fought a yawn. Slipping his arm around her shoulders again, Harry rolled his eyes.

“Sixth year _sure is difficult_ ,” Harry mumbled as they walked out of the passageway, and Ginny stomped on his foot.

“Shut up and walk, Potter.”

**(…)**

McGonagall made good on her promise, and midway through December, Harry made his way to her classroom after dinner for a private Patronus lesson. There hadn’t been a group Patronus lesson since November, and the talk had quieted down since then. With exams fast approaching, and the wards working splendidly, it was easily forgotten.

“Welcome, Mr. Potter,” McGonagall said as Harry knocked, peeking into her open door. She was sitting at her desk, a stack of papers in front of her. As she stood, the quill that had been moving fell to the desk, and she put it back into the ink well.

“Good evening,” he said, moving to stand next to a desk near the front. She smiled at him as she waved her wand and moved a few desks aside.

“I do apologize, for initially putting you off to even attempting the charm. I did not mean for that to happen,” she said, and Harry shook his head.

“I think it would’ve been worse if I had tried and been unable to produce a form,” he said, and McGonagall shook her head.

“A charm without a form still works, Mr. Potter. But, I suppose, it would be rather embarrassing for your sister to produce such a lovely owl, and for you to not have a form at all,” she said, the twinkle in her eye telling him she understood completely. Harry laughed as he stood next to her.

“Why do you think I won’t have a form until I find my other half?” he asked suddenly, and she looked at him over her glasses.

“Harry,” she said, and he started at the use of his first name. “Half souls, as you already know, aren’t widely researched, or understood. There is a lot that we simply do not understand. The Muggles have their suspicions, their folklore, we have ours, but there’s still a vast amount of gray area. I had a suspicion that, because of how closely linked to the soul this charm is, you would find difficulty casting it in full. You surely have a happy enough memory to succeed, do you not?”

Harry nodded at her question, the memory he’d picked originally still strong in his mind.

“Well, whenever you are ready, feel free to try,” she said, standing back and leaning against one of the desks. Harry nodded, taking in a deep breath and moving to stand in the clearing she’d created.

He closed his eyes to think about the memory, and really soak into it. He didn’t know if he believed McGonagall, he hoped she wasn’t right, so focusing all of his energy on his happiest memory was his main goal.

“EXPECTO PATRONUM!”

He felt the energy build in his core and flow down his arm as a wall of silver erupted from the end of his wand, basking the room in a cooler light. The wall pulsated as Harry’s concentration slipped, his disappointment coming through. He dropped his wand after a moment and the warm light of the candles once again lighted the room.

“That was your happiest memory?” McGonagall asked from where she stood, her eyes blinking as they adjusted to the light change. Harry nodded.

“Try again,” she said, her voice calm and reassuring.

Closing his eyes again, he focused on his happiest memory, and memories similar to it. He thought about the feeling of a hand on his cheek; the sound of laughter as he flew around the pitch; catching her as she fell off her broom, dizzy as could be; the feeling of being under the invisibility cloak next to her, sneaking through the halls.

He tried again.

**(…)**

“Ron, I need to talk to you.”

Ron looked up from where he sat, next to Hermione in a single armchair.

“What’s up?” he asked, and Harry shifted on the balls of his feet.

“Can we just talk for a second?” he said, the urgency coming through in his voice. Ron nodded then, and Hermione stood so Ron could as well. She reached out and touched Harry’s shoulder.

“I’ll be here,” she said, understanding that this was something Harry could only tell Ron. Harry nodded, silently thanking her.

Harry led Ron up the stairs, his Patronus lesson still fresh in his mind. As they walked into the seventh year dormitory, Ron cleared his throat.

“Are you okay? What happened at your lesson?” Ron asked, sitting down on his bed across from Harry’s. Harry sat on the end of his and rested his elbows on his knees.

“Well, I couldn’t cast a full Patronus, first off. I tried multiple times, and it was just a very strong wall,” Harry started, and Ron frowned.

“So, McGonagall was correct? I know you’ll be able to produce a corporeal,” Ron reassured him, and Harry smiled at his best friend.

“She was correct, but there’s something else…” he trailed off, and Ron sat forward, resting his chin on his hand.

“What? Harry, you’re looking a little barmy,” Ron said, trying to add a joke to the situation. Harry swallowed thickly.

“You can’t get… weird,” Harry tried, and Ron narrowed his eyes.

“Weird about what?”

“Because I didn’t get weird when you and Hermione _finally_ started dating, and she’s basically another sister to me,” Harry rambled on, the words slurring together, and Ron tried to keep up.

“Harry, just spit it out,” Ron said, looking amused and exasperated. Harry sighed heavily.

“I think it’s Ginny.”

Ron blinked at him, hard, and sat back, resting his hands on the bed so he could survey Harry from where he sat. He thought for a moment, his brain going over the past few months, before he sucked on his teeth.

“Why do you think it’s Ginny?” he asked, and Harry waved his hands around in a sign of anxiety.

“Because my happiest memories are with or about her,” Harry mumbled, pointedly ignoring Ron’s gaze. Ron could see the heat on Harry’s cheeks, and the way his hands were fidgeting terribly. Sitting up and leaning forward, Ron thought of his words carefully.

“Can you even remember the first words you two said to each other? How old were we? We were six, so she was five,” Ron thought aloud, and Harry nodded.

“I know, but wouldn’t that explain why I can’t figure out who it is? It happened so long ago that I don’t remember it, like our parents remembered theirs,” Harry said, having already thought of this on the walk back from McGonagall’s classroom. Ron pursed his lips, in a way that reminded Harry of Arthur Weasley.

“That’s true…,” Ron trailed off, looking out the window behind Harry’s bed.

“I just… I don’t know for sure, and I don’t want to mistakenly think it’s someone without knowing certainly. But, I… I have this gut feeling, and I can’t ignore my gut,” Harry said, feeling slightly uneasy at the way Ron wasn’t speaking.

“Without getting… weird,” Ron looked at him, “as you put it, let me ask you a couple questions.”

Harry nodded as Ron put his thoughts together, his hands coming together in front of him.

“Think of how our parents describe being together, as though they’re calmer and full. Do you feel that around Ginny?” Ron began, and Harry could feel his cheeks burning.

“I… maybe? I’m always happy when she’s around,” Harry mumbled, feeling as though he should have gone to Hermione about this. Having this conversation with Ron, his best friend since childhood, had seemed like a good idea, until now.

“What does it feel like when you’re apart?” Ron seemed to be struggling with it as well, and Harry laughed at the tension in his stomach.

“I don’t know; we haven’t been apart for longer than what… a few hours here at school?”

Ron nodded, his cheeks as red as Harry expected his were.

“The thing is,” Harry said as Ron opened his mouth, “I don’t know if this is all because we’ve known each other so long, and I’m very comfortable around her, she’s one of my best friends, all of that… or if it’s because she’s my…”

Harry trailed off, suddenly unable to say it. Ron nodded, understanding as usual.

“What are you going to do about it?” Ron asked, and Harry widened his eyes.

“Well, I mean… with the holiday coming up, and I’m not going to see her for at least a week, I kind of figured that… if I felt how mum and dad have always described being apart as, I’ll know...” Harry trailed off, but Ron nodded enthusiastically.

“That’s actually not a half bad idea, mate. Just make it through the next few days, and then see what the holiday brings,” he offered, and Harry laughed against the anxiety in his stomach.

“You’re not… freaking out?” Harry said, and Ron shrugged.

“Like you said about the tattoo, what can I do? Besides, it’s not my problems to be freaking out about. And you didn’t get weird about Hermione and I, so I guess I’ll return the favor,” Ron said jokingly, and Harry laughed with him.

“ _I’m_ freaking out,” Harry mumbled, looking down at his pants. He heard Ron stand up, and looked up in time to see Ron sit down next to him.

“Can I be totally honest with you for a moment?” Ron asked, and Harry nodded as his eyebrows came together.

“I had a feeling it might be Ginny about a month ago,” Ron confessed, and Harry shook his head as he laughed.

“I feel like a lot of people are going to say that to me,” he said, and Ron laughed.

“Oh, Hermione is, definitely. Probably Rose… maybe our parents. I feel like Sirius figured it out on your birthday,” Ron said, and Harry felt his ears burn.

“Why didn’t anyone say anything then?” Harry asked, looking up at Ron. He shrugged, looking genuinely confused.

“I don’t know. I’ve never felt the urge to tell you, or it’s never crossed my mind while I’m around you. That’s a weird one,” Ron said, standing up. Harry followed, and they regarded each other for a moment.

“How sure are you, that it’s Ginny?” Ron asked, breaking the silence.

“I’m somewhat sure,” Harry said, unable to equate it any other way. Ron opened his mouth to speak when there was a knock on the door, and they turned to look at the door as it opened, revealing the person of discussion, a curious smile on her face.

“Hey, I’m sorry to interrupt, but Hermione says you two have been up here for a long time, and I need to talk to Ron,” Ginny said, looking between Ron and Harry. They stared back at her for a moment before Ron nodded, reaching over to clap Harry on the shoulder.

“Yeah, what’s up?” Ron asked, moving over to where Ginny had walked slightly into the room. He slid his arm around her shoulder, and she grinned at Harry as Ron steered her form the room and down the stairs.

“So, mum’s Christmas present…” Ginny’s voice trailed off in the stairwell, and Harry sat back down on his bed with a sigh, already thinking of the conversation he was going to have with his parents when he arrived home for the holiday.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is, by far, one of my favorites. I pushed it to 5k words after the original draft was 37 words off, and I like a challenge. Last chapter was more of a filler than anything else, so I felt this chapter deserved to be what it became. I hope you guys like it as much as I do!!! Let me know!!


	9. Holiday Pranks

“Okay, which one of you helped them?”

Ginny looked up from her breakfast to where Dean was pointing, across the Great Hall to the Slytherin table. It was covered in an insurmountable layer of snow, and each time the professors tried to melt it, it grew in size. Ron frowned as he looked at Ginny, both of them shrugging.

“Who said we helped them?” Ron asked, and Hermione snorted into her porridge. Ginny and Ron glared at her and she rolled her eyes.

“Reflex,” she mumbled, causing Harry to laugh. He was watching at Flitwick moved around the pile that was five times taller than he, a strangely proud smile on his face. There had been whispers that Fred and George were working on holiday themed products, and many wondered how they’d manage to sneak them into the castle with Dumbledore monitoring the mail for any Weasley and Weasley products.

“You’re their siblings,” Seamus said, and Ginny shrugged.

“I honestly had nothing to do with it,” she said, pouring herself some juice as Dean narrowed his eyes at her and Ron.

“It would be too obvious if they sent any of us any of the new products,” Ron said, gesturing to Harry and Hermione as well. Harry looked up the table to where Rose sat, and Ginny seemed to be reading his mind.

“I already asked her if they talked to her, and she swears they didn’t,” she whispered, leaning in closer to him to talk over the chatter as Dumbledore walked into the Great Hall, his eyes already on the pile of snow. Harry looked down at her, trying to focus as the smell of her hair filled his mind.

“Probably wasn’t a Gryffindor at all, knowing the twins,” he said, and she shifted in her seat as she nodded. Their legs were pressed against each other, as the tables were fuller than usual; all the Slytherin’s were sitting amongst the other houses to eat breakfast. Hermione looked to be practically sitting in Ron’s lap.

“They were likely planning this over the summer, and used your birthday parties as a way to find people to help,” Hermione commented as she ate, and Ron and Ginny looked at each other.

“Luna,” Ginny said, turning her head to look over to the Ravenclaw table, searching the students for the shock of white blonde hair that was Luna. Hermione seemed to nod in silent approval, and Harry shook his head.

“Those two are far too clever for their own good,” Harry said, and Ginny and Ron laughed together.

“You’re telling us,” Ron said, turning his head as someone across the hall yelled. The pile of snow had grown, and now it was encroaching on the Hufflepuff table.

“I can only assume that more is to come, knowing those two,” Ginny said as she ate her toast, her elbow bumping into Harry’s ribs. He lifted his arm and draped it across her shoulders, giving them an inch more room to move.

“Sorry, it’s crowded this morning,” she said in a joking tone, and Harry rolled his eyes at her.

“I hadn’t noticed,” he said, using the arm that was wrapped around her shoulders to reach for his plate. She shrieked as her head was pulled into his armpit, elbowing him for real as he laughed.

“Merlin, you reek! Did you shower this week?” she teased as she pushed out of his side, the static from his sweater causing her hair to flame out around her head. She reached up and tried to smooth it back into place.

“No, actually,” he replied, and she rolled her eyes. Shifting slightly, she settled into his side, her head resting on his shoulder. Harry ignored the look Ron was shooting at them from across the table.

Ron was the only person Harry had told about his realization during his Patronus lesson the previous week. Harry kept telling himself that he only had to make it through the last week of term before the holiday, and then he’d have almost a week to figure out how to tell anyone before the New Year’s party. The most difficult aspect, though, was acting as though nothing had changed, or doing anything out of the ordinary. It was hard enough keeping anything from Ginny, as he’d always talked to her about everything.

It certaintly didn’t help that Ron had the tact of a drunk rhino.

“What else do you think they have planned?” Hermione asked, not looking up from the Daily Prophet. Ron gave a half shrug, attempting to reduce any jostling to his girlfriend.

“Well, their general theme is chaos, so I’m expecting just that,” Harry said, and the group seated around him laughed.

“I overhead them talking about mistletoe,” Ginny offered, and Hermione looked up from her paper.

“I’ll be watching the doorways,” she said, pushing herself back on the bench. Ron and Lavender gave her room as she struggled to stand up, pulling her pack over her shoulder with a huff.

“Library?” Ron asked, and she leaned down to kiss his cheek.

“Of course,” she said, and Ron held up a hand as Harry and Ginny opened their mouths.

“Don’t even,” Ron said as Hermione walked away, and Ginny giggled into her drink.

**(…)**

By Wednesday, it was obvious that Fred and George had contracted students from every house for their mayhem. The snow was finally removed from the Great Hall on Monday after a muggleborn first year from Ravenclaw suggested they simply shovel it out, and not use magic at all. It seemed to work, and some younger students had offered to help Hagrid and Filch. Then some of the candles over the Hufflepuff table had started to produce snow, and by the end of Tuesday, each table had candles producing snow hovering over them. This snow as less intrusive than the other, and didn’t pile up on the tables, so most of the students and staff simply ignored it.

Wednesday looked promising as students bustled through the hallways, spirits high as the week progressed. The sun was shining brightly, and it reflected off the snow on the grounds in a way that blinded anyone who looked outside.

Ginny walked down into the common room that morning to find Hermione already awake and sitting at one of the tables. The exams schedule was set up so students could sleep in, but it meant people like Hermione were up with nothing to do but study.

“Morning,” Ginny called softly, and Hermione looked up with a smile.

“Good morning,” she said as Ginny sat down, her jumper pulled tight around her neck. She yawned into her hands and Hermione chuckled.

“You could just go back to sleep,” Hermione said, and Ginny shook her head.

“I haven’t been sleeping well lately,” she mumbled, and Hermione’s eyebrows came together.

“Weren’t you having trouble sleeping at the beginning of term?” Hermione asked, and Ginny shrugged.

“It’s been off and on,” she said, reaching up to rub her eyes. Hermione pursed her lips, her DADA book forgotten in front of her.

“Did you talk to your mum about it?” she asked, and Ginny nodded.

“Yes, but nothing she suggested helped. I even talked to Madam Pomfrey about it, explained that I sleep through the night but wake up exhausted,” Ginny explained, and Hermione brought a hand to her face.

“Maybe you’re having intense dreams that you wake up not remembering,” Hermione offered, reaching across the table to squeeze one of Ginny’s hands. They smiled at each other.

“Maybe,” Ginny mumbled before yawning again, and Hermione sighed.

“Why don’t you go lay down on one of the couches,” Hermione offered, standing up and pulling on Ginny’s hands. With a groan, Ginny stood and followed Hermione over to the couch near the window, where Hermione gently pushed Ginny down.

“Take a blanket,” Hermione said as Ginny curled up against the arm, laughing at the glare that Ginny sent her way. Pulling the blankets up to her chin, Ginny  shut her eyes with a sigh, smiling as Hermione gently rubbed her head.

“I’ll be in the chair,” Hermione said, referring to the armchair that was next to the couch. Ginny nodded, her eyes still closed. By the time Hermione had retrieved her DADA book and walked back, Ginny’s breathing had evened out.

The common room was quiet once again, the only sounds being Ginny’s breathing and the crackling of the fire behind the grate. Hermione smiled to herself as she settled into the armchair, her book perched on her lap. She glanced at Ginny, her brain still trying to work out why the younger girl was so tired.

She sank into the chair and turned to look out the window, her brain now completely forgetting the DADA exam for which she was supposed to be studying. Truthfully, she knew she was prepared for the exam, as were most of the seventh years, which was why they were all still asleep. As she stared off out the window, she thought about the upcoming week, and the plans she had with her parents. She wouldn’t see any of her friends again until New Years, which was the norm. The Potters threw a fantastic party every year, and Hermione had been going since she was twelve.

Thinking about the Potters, she looked back at Ginny, her mind wandering to Harry. Ron hadn’t said anything about their conversation the previous week, and Harry had been very apathetic about his Patronus lesson with McGonagall. Hermione was inclined to believe Harry had finally figured out who his other half was, and while she was put out that he hadn’t told her, she was proud of him for finally doing so. His enthusiasm into figuring it out had waned as the term progressed, and Hermione had began to believe he’d given up entirely.

She looked up as she heard a door shut somewhere up the dormitory stairs, checking to make sure Ginny was still asleep as their footfalls got louder. She smiled to herself as they came into view.

“Good morning, Harry,” she said quietly, fiddling with the book in her lap. Harry smiled at her, not surprised at all to find her already awake. As he walked around the couches to reach her, his eyes fell upon Ginny, and his expression changed as he moved to sit on the floor in front of her.

“Is she okay?” he asked, sitting near Ginny’s feet. Hermione stared at him for a moment before finding it in her to answer.

“She said she didn’t sleep well,” Hermione said, watching as Harry reached up to push a strand of hair behind Ginny’s ear. Hermione bit her lip.

“She hasn’t been sleeping well for awhile,” Harry said, gazing at Ginny from where he sat. Hermione felt as though she was intruding on a very private moment, and she couldn’t stop herself.

“It’s Ginny, isn’t it?” she blurted out, her hands clenching the book in her lap. Harry looked up at her as though he’d forgotten she was there, his face flushing.

“What?” he asked, and Hermione crossed her arms as she rolled her eyes.

“Harry,” she warned, watching as he reached up with one hand and rested it on Ginny’s knee, his thumb moving in a slow circle over the blanket.

“It… might be,” he confessed, and Hermione forced herself to remain quiet.

“You figured it out after your Patronus lesson, didn’t you? That’s why you were talking to Ron for so long…” she trailed off, pointing at Harry with a wide-eyed expression.

“How did Ron react to this?” she mumbled, and Harry blew air out his nose.

“Better than you are currently reacting,” he said, looking up as Ginny sighed heavily in her sleep. Hermione could see his expression soften as he looked at her.

“I had a feeling its Ginny,” she sat back in the chair, and Harry looked at her with a tired expression.

“Ron said you had probably already figured it out. I am expecting a lot of ‘I knew it’ talks from people when it gets out,” Harry said softly, shrugging.

“Rose is going to be extremely smug,” Hermione chuckled, already thinking of the youngest Potters reaction. Harry groaned quietly.

“You cannot tell her,” he emphasized, and Hermione glared at him.

“Why not? She’s your sister,” she asked, and Harry sighed heavily.

“Because it’s not your news to share, and I’m trying to keep it as secret as possible before I’m positive it’s Ginny.”

“And when will that be?”

“New Years, probably,” Harry offered, and Hermione thought for a moment.

“Because you’ll be apart long enough to feel affected, good plan,” Hermione said, piecing it together. Harry nodded at her, his thumb still moving in slow circles across Ginny’s knee.

“And then I’ll know for sure,” he said, but Hermione looked like she had another question.

“How are you going to tell her?” she asked, and Harry shrugged.

“I’ll have almost a week to figure that out,” he mumbled as Ginny shifted, pushing up against the pillow that was wedged between her and the couch. Hermione and Harry watched as her eyes fluttered, her legs stretching out on the couch as she woke up. Hermione didn’t miss the look that crossed Harry’s face as he dropped his hand from Ginny’s knee.

“Wha-s goin?” Ginny mumbled as she opened her eyes, her gaze focusing on Harry. Hermione shifted in her seat, a fly on the wall to them.

“You tell me, Hermione said you didn’t sleep well,” Harry mumbled, reaching up again to brush Ginny’s hair behind her ears. She smiled down at Harry before yawning.

“I didn’t, so she had me lay down,” Ginny looked around, finding Hermione in the chair next to the couch wearing a very smug expression.

“How was your nap?” Hermione asked. Ginny shrugged, moving to sit up on the couch. Harry pushed himself up onto the couch next to her, his arm going around her shoulders.

“Restful,” Ginny offered, reaching up to rub her eyes. Hermione took this opportunity to flash a knowing smile at Harry.

“Well, Harry and I were just talking about the New Year’s party,” Hermione said, and Ginny smiled at the mention of the holiday.

“I can’t believe it’s two weeks away, it feels like yesterday was my birthday,” Ginny mumbled, looking up as noise echoed down the dorm stairs. A moment later, Ron stepped into the common room, yawning widely. He spotted them sitting in the far corner and smiled.

“Always late to the party,” he said as he approached, and Hermione stood from her chair.

“Actually, I was just going to leave to get breakfast,” she said, and Ron smiled at her.

“Breakfast is also good,” he said, looking at how Harry and Ginny were sitting. He smiled at them as Hermione linked their hands.

“We’ll see you two down there, yeah?” he said, turning as Hermione pulled on his arm. He heard Harry mumble something, but he was already at the portrait hole, Hermione’s grip on his hand vice like.

“’Mione, what’s wrong?” he asked as they climbed through the hole, out into the hallway. She sighed heavily as the portrait shut behind them.

“Now I know how Harry felt for years,” she mumbled, and Ron’s eyebrows came together.

“What?” he asked, feeling as if he’d missed something.

“Being the third wheel,” she said, and Ron stopped walking to stare wide-eyed at her.

“You figured it out, didn’t you?” he asked, and she nodded vigorously. Ron bent down and kissed her forehead enthusiastically.

“I’m so glad you did, because I’ve been dying to talk to you about it.”

**(…)**

As Harry walked out of the DADA exam hall, he pondered what to do. He had chanced a quick peek at Ron and Hermione as he left, and could see that they had another page to go each, which left him waiting on them. He was one of the first to finish, and he could see the two Ravenclaw’s who were done walking up the staircase to the library. With a sigh, he turned the other direction and began walking down the hallway, his final destination the Great Hall. The exam had stretched into the afternoon, and Harry could feel himself becoming hungry.

Turning the corner, something caught his eye up above his head, and he looked up in confusion as it zoomed along the ceiling. He could barely make out what it was from where he stood, and as he moved towards it, it moved away from him. By the time he was halfway down the hallway, whatever it was had turned the corner and was out of sight.

“If this is the next prank,” he mumbled to himself as he hurried up to turn the corner, groaning as the object hurried to get away from him. Squinting, he stared at it for a moment before walking again, playing a game of follow the leader with it. At least it seemed to be heading for the Great Hall.

Harry was a corridor away from his destination when the object flew around the corner and someone yelped in surprise. He hurried up and turned the corner to see Ginny and Demelza standing at the other end, staring up at the ceiling.

“Hey!” he called, and Ginny looked at him. She held up her hands, and pointed a finger at him.

“Don’t move, Harry, these things are Fred and George’s new prank,” she said, digging in her robes and pulling out her wand.

“What is it? I can’t tell what it is,” he asked.

“It’s mistletoe that disguises itself until it has two people under it, and then you’re stuck until you snog,” Demelza said, standing back as Ginny mumbled something and shot a spell at the object. It hummed for a moment and then sparkled as it turned into a sprig of mistletoe before their eyes. Harry could see the magic flowing from it in the form of bright sparkles falling to the floor.

“If you stand underneath and the magic touches you, you’re stuck,” Ginny said as the mistletoe stopped sparkling, and dropped from the ceiling. Harry walked forward then, and met them in the middle.

“How do you already know how to counteract it?” Harry asked as Ginny banished the sprig.

“We were studying in the library when someone released them. It caught a bunch of fourth years studying at one of the tables, and Dumbledore came almost immediately. It appears he saw this coming, and had already gotten the counter curse,” Demelza explained, and Harry raised his eyebrows.

“He already had the counter curse?” he asked, and the two girls shrugged.

“I think he might have gotten his hands on one of the products before they were released and figured them out,” Ginny said, putting her wand away again.

“Where were you headed, Harry?” Demelza asked, and Harry gestured down the hallway.

“Lunch. I finished the DADA exam early and figured Ron and Hermione could meet me there. Where are you two going?”

“Lunch as well,” Ginny said with a smile, turning on her heel and waiting for Harry and Demelza to begin walking.

“You’re done with exams for the day, right?” Harry asked as they walked, smiling as they entered the Great Hall.

“Yes! Potions was it. I suppose that’s where most of the sixth years are still,” she said as they walked along the Gryffindor table. The hall was mostly empty, as each year was still in their exams for the day. 

“I can’t believe there’s only one more exam and then we’re home,” Demelza said as she sat down across from Harry and Ginny.

“If I start thinking like that, I’ll do terribly on the Transfiguration exam tomorrow,” Ginny said with a laugh, picking up the water pitcher and pouring herself a glass. She filled Harry’s glass as well, smiling at him as she replaced the pitcher in its spot on the table. Demelza watched them from across the table, moving nearly in sync as they filled their plates.

“When do you think we’ll see Rose? She was worried about her Charms exam,” Ginny said, breaking Demelza out of her trance. Ginny was staring at her friend with a confused expression, and Demelza shrugged as she began to fill her plate with food.

“I’m sure she’ll be one of the first finished, she has mum’s knack for charms,” Harry said, looking up from his plate as voiced echoed in from the back doors. There was a loud yell, and then Dean came running through the doors, Seamus right behind him. They were laughing hysterically, and when they spotted Harry, they gestured to him wildly.

“Harry, you have to come, quick!” Seamus said between laughs, and Harry looked at Ginny and Demelza.

“What?” he called, as Neville walked in as well, face bright red with laughter.

“Hermione… Ron… stuck in some mistletoe thing,” Dean wheezed, and Harry was out of his seat in an instant. Ginny was right behind him, moving past a confused looking Luna.

“I’ll kill Fred and George,” Hermione was saying as Harry and Ginny ran up to them, already laughing behind their hands. Dean and Seamus walked back into the hall, their laughter raucous as they looked on.

“What is this?” Ron asked, and Harry wiped at his eyes as he tried to respond.

They were pressed together, the sparkles from the mistletoe hovering around them. Hermione was holding onto Ron, but it was obvious that they were not standing that close on purpose. Hermione leaned back slightly, trying to push herself away from Ron, but to no avail. Ginny gripped Harry’s arm as she laughed into her hand.

“I – don’t – know,” Harry got out between laughs, and Hermione rolled her eyes.

“I’m guessing we have to kiss to get out of it?” Hermione asked, and Ginny nodded, her eyes watering.

“There’s a counter curse… but you two have no problem kissing, now do you?” Ginny waggled her eyebrows, and Hermione glared at her.

“You’re ridiculous,” Hermione snapped, looking up at Ron with a weak smile.

“Alright, ‘at’s enough!” Filch yelled as he came down the hallway, shooing away the crowd that had gathered at the commotion. Harry and Ginny backed away as the old groundskeeper glared at them, following most of the Gryffindor’s back into the Great Hall in indignation.

“Fred and George are geniuses,” Seamus mumbled as they found their seats at the table again.

“They might not make it to New Years when mum finds out about this,” Ginny said, and Harry laughed.

“It’s worth it.”

**(…)**

Harry looked up as Rose’s foot came into contact with his, and she gestured with her eyes towards the door. Out in the hallway was a group of young Slytherin girls, and as Harry and Rose turned to look at them, they ran away from the glass with a lot of loud yelling. Harry looked back at his sister and shrugged, careful not to jostle Ginny’s head, where it rested on his shoulder.

The compartment was silent as they rode back to London. After about thirty minutes, the urge to relax took over after the long week of exams. Rose had a blanket shoved up against the window under her head, and she’d been trying to get Harry to move enough on the bench to let her rest her feet next to him. Ron and Hermione were quietly playing chess, the board hovering in front of them as they sat close together on the bench next to Rose.

As Rose settled against her makeshift pillow, Ginny shifted next to Harry, turning her body towards him. Hermione looked over and gave Harry a knowing smirk, and Harry ignored it by looking back at the book in his lap.

“You don’t want to make that move,” Ron said quietly, and Harry could hear Hermione’s brain working.

“What move do I want to make then?” Hermione asked, and Ron laughed softly.

“There’s a move, you’ll get it.”

It was quiet again, and the words of his book blurred together, so Harry looked out the window. The stirring feeling in his stomach had quieted significantly when Ginny had rested her head against his shoulder and fallen asleep. His mind knew that they were going to be apart for a week, and he could already feel himself becoming anxious.

As the train sped along, Harry’s mind wandered to how he would talk to Ginny at the New Year’s party. It would be no issue getting her alone; with so many people attending, disappearing for a while was quiet easy. Plus, the Potter Manor had plenty of places to escape, as Harry and Rose had thoroughly explored when they were younger.

Moreover, it wasn’t that he didn’t think she wouldn’t believe him. He knew that if he went to her honestly, and explained what had been going on, she’d believe him completely.

It was starting the conversation that made him nervous.

Ron had let Harry bounce ideas off him the previous night, and Ron had encouraged him to get all of the bad ideas out then. Hermione had her own list of suggestions, and Harry was sure that Rose would as well. It would have been easier if he could remember the first conversation he’d had with Ginny, but trying to dig that up had caused him a major headache that he wasn’t going to put himself through again.

By the time the train was ten minutes outside of London, Harry had watched the entire countryside fly by as he thought, his stomach working itself into a twist. He took in a deep breath and turned away from the window, looking around the compartment. Ron and Hermione were now sitting in silence, leaning against each other, eyes closed. Rose was beginning to wake up, her legs stretching out and kicking Harry. She raised her eyebrows at him as she stretched.

“We’re close now, yeah?” Rose said, and Harry nodded.

“Probably ten minutes or so,” he said, and Rose nodded. The conversation was just loud enough to stir Hermione, and as she stretched, she woke Ron.

“Has Ginny been asleep the entire time?” Ron asked, and Harry nodded. He looked down at her, bringing his hand over to touch the arm that was resting on his leg. He felt his stomach begin to relax, if only for a moment.

“Ginny,” Harry said softly near her ear, prodding her arm. She barely moved, and Rose giggled into her hand as Harry looked at Ron.

“You gotta speak up, deep sleeper you know,” Ron joked, and Hermione rolled her eyes at them.

“Ginny,” Harry tried again, moving his arm to jostle her. She stirred then, her face scrunching up as she moved against Harry.

“Wha?” she said, opening her eyes slowly. She blinked against the light, and then looked at her friends.

“Are we close?” she mumbled, and Hermione nodded.

“You’ve been asleep the entire time,” Hermione said, and Ginny cleared her throat.

“Good,” she said, sitting up and stretching. Harry watched her for a moment, and she caught his eye as she brought her arms back down to her sides.

“You’re a very comfortable pillow,” she said, and Harry chuckled.

“Or you were just very tired,” he replied, and she shrugged. She stood up and twisted her back, shaking out her legs as the train began to slow. The corridor was beginning to fill with students, and with a groan, Ron stood up to retrieve their things.

They waited a few minutes after the train had stopped, and everyone began to get off, before venturing out into the corridor. The first years were always eager to see their parents, and they clogged up the exits in excitement.

“Bill is getting us, right?” Ginny asked Ron as they made their way to the doors, and Ron clicked his tongue.

“I think so. Our family is always recognizable,” Ron said with a laugh, stepping off the train first. He helped each of them get their trunks off the train before moving away from the exit, smiling as Hermione bent up to kiss his cheek.

“I see mum,” Rose said, pointing into the crowd to where a shock of red hair could be seen.

“And I see Bill and Percy,” Ginny said, a smiling breaking out across her face. She pushed ahead, Ron and Rose following her, leaving Hermione to walk next to Harry.

“You’re going to be fine,” Hermione said, reading Harry’s body language. He looked at her and smiled.

“I know,” he said, and she narrowed her eyes at him.

“Then stop looking so downtrodden,” she said as they reached where their families were standing.

“Harry!” Percy called, reaching him before Lily could and pulling him into a one armed hug. Bill reached over and shook Harry’s hand, immobilized as Ginny gave her eldest brother a tight hug.

“We were just talking about that New Year’s party. We heard from _certain brothers_ that they have some more new products to try out,” Percy said, and Lily rolled her eyes.

“They’re not setting anything explosive off in my house,” she warned, and Ron chuckled.

“You’ll have to watch them carefully,” Ron said, and Bill jerked his head at Percy.

“Well, we’ll see you then, yes? Hermione, you as well? I heard your parents are coming this year,” Percy said, letting go of Harry and moving towards the Grangers. Harry looked at Ginny, and she smiled widely at him. She let go of Bill and walked over to Harry, standing up on her tiptoes to wrap her arms around his shoulders.

“Don’t have too much fun in France, okay?” she teased, and he laughed as he squeezed her middle.

“As long as you don’t get lost in Romania,” he teased back, and she let go of his shoulders to smile at him.

“I’ll bring you back something cool,” she said, patting him on the cheek as Bill pulled on her arm.

With a wave and a couple more goodbyes, the Weasley’s disappeared from the platform, and Harry felt his stomach twist into a knot again.  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do dearly apologize for the length of time between updates here. There's a lot of reasons why I wasn't able to write, but I finally got my personal life in order and now I'm here to update. Thank you for all waiting patiently, and I hope this chapter kinda makes up for it. I feel like it's a lot more filler than anything, but you gotta move the story along nonetheless, and the next couple chapter are what you've all been waiting for!
> 
> Feedback is always appreciated!


	10. Ruby

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter goes out to the cute people who kept distracting me at Starbucks while I wrote this.
> 
> EDITED 6/2: Because I'm an idiot and messed up my own plotline.

Lily sat curled up in an overstuffed armchair, watching her family as they lounged around the living room. Every year, Fleamont and Euphemia arrived a week before James and Lily, and helped their house elves ready the house for being inhabited for a week and a half. The house belonged to Euphemia’s family, who took turns using it as a holiday home.

Lily looked up as Harry stood from the floor in front of the fireplace, his shoulders hunched over as he walked towards the kitchen. Binky, one of the Potter’s loyal house elves, followed Harry, insisting that she would get whatever Harry needed. Lily smiled as Harry explained what he was going to get, and Binky disappeared into the kitchen.

“Harry, come here,” Lily called to her son, and he smiled at her as he walked over to sit on the floor in front of her chair. His hair wasn’t looking as wild as it usually was, and she reached over to ruffle it up slightly.

“What’s wrong?” she asked softly, and Harry looked at her from behind his glasses. He opened his mouth, but shut it as Binky came back with a large mug of hot cocoa.

“Thank you, Binky,” Harry said, and the elf bowed.

“You’sa welcome, Ma- Harry,” Binky said, correcting herself midsentence. Rose and Harry had insisted the house elves simply call them by name, and it always took a day for them to get used to it.

Lily watched her son drink the cocoa, the steam fogging up his glasses slightly. They had arrived early that morning, and spent the day inside, catching up. Harry and Rose had still been tired from exam week, and slept most of the Sunday away, not that their parents and grandparents minded. It gave James and Lily a chance to catch Fleamont and Euphemia up on Harry’s situation.

“I think I know who it is,” Harry said suddenly, and Lily brought her attention back to him. He was staring into the mug, and she reached out to massage his scalp.

“Are you beginning to feel it?” she asked, and Harry shrugged, leaning into the massage Lily was giving his neck.

“I can’t tell if it’s that or I’m simply tired,” he said, and Lily pursed her lips.

“Does your chest ache?” she asked, and Harry scrunched up his face.

“Not… terribly,” he said, and Lily nodded.

“That’s where you feel it. It’s believed the soul found shelter right near the heart, and that’s where the ache comes from when you’re apart,” Lily mumbled, looking across the room to share a look with James.

“I just need to get through the week,” Harry said into his cup, and Lily’s eyebrows came together.

“Harry, who do you think it is?” Lily asked, and Harry looked up at his mother.

“Rose is listening, isn’t she?” he whispered, and Lily looked at Rose, lying on the rug nearby, the family cat curled up on her stomach.

“Definitely,” Lily said, and Harry sighed. He looked over his shoulder at Rose for a moment before turning back to Lily.

“It’s Ginny,” he said, removing the doubt he’d let himself feel. The confused look on Lily’s face changed to one of understanding, and she nodded slowly.

“Arthur was right,” she said, and Harry tilted his head.

“What?” he asked and Lily bit her bottom lip.

“Arthur might have figured it out back in August…” she trailed off, and Harry hung his head, his shoulders shaking as he laughed.

“August,” he said, and Lily nodded.

“And then we, as in your father and I, Molly and Arthur, pieced things together and we’ve mostly been waiting for the letter from you saying you’d figured it out,” she said, and from the floor, Rose snorted. Harry turned to glare at her.

“Why didn’t you say anything?” Harry practically whined, and Lily shrugged.

“Molly put forth a suspicion that when other half souls help each other figure things out, bad luck befalls them. I didn’t put any stake in it, but I also didn’t want to take any chances,” she explained, leveling her daughter with a glare as Rose scooted across the floor to sit right next to Harry.

“And why didn’t you say anything?” Harry said to Rose, and she shrugged.

“I’m not sure, actually… I thought about saying something, but I usually lost my train of thought…” she trailed off, and Lily nodded eagerly.

“That’s something the souls do! It’s like a form of jealousy, and they don’t want to help the half souls,” Lily explained as Rose and Harry looked at each other.

“I would think that whole souls have other souls they’re more familiar with and tend to gravitate towards, and those people are either great friends or fall in love,” Harry said, and Rose nodded.

“Why would whole souls be jealous of half souls?” Rose looked at her mother, and Lily shrugged.

“I’m not sure. The souls have been inhabiting people for a very long time, and it’s hard to tell if humans are learning from the souls, or vice versa. Either way, it’s another oddity which we might never have an answer,” Lily said, reaching down to ruffle Harry’s hair again.

“James,” Lily said softly, and even though he was in the middle of his conversation with his father, he turned his head and looked at his wife.

“Yes, dear?” he asked as Euphemia stood from her chair and made her way into the kitchen.

“Arthur was right,” she said simply, and James broke into a wide grin.

“About what was Arthur Weasley correct?” Fleamont asked, breaking into the conversation with grandfatherly curiosity. Harry shifted so he was facing the room, and waited a moment for his grandmother to walk back to her seat, a fresh cup of tea in her hands.

“It’s Ginny,” Harry said, and Fleamont’s eyes twinkled as he looked at James.

“What _is_ Ginny?” Euphemia asked, taking the words from her husband mouth. Harry glared at his grandparents.

“Ginny’s my… other half,” he said slowly, and as he said the words, he felt a mixture of acceptance and longing wash over him.

“What…” he mumbled to himself, looking at his hands, and Lily chuckled.

“It’s a weird feeling, isn’t it?” she said softly as Harry looked at her.

“What was that?” he asked. James leaned forward in his chair, clearing his throat.

“Funny, really,” he said as Rose looked from her parents to her brother.

“ _What_?” she asked, looking rather impatient.

“That was Harry realizing what he already knew,” Euphemia said with a knowing smirk, and Rose looked at Harry.

“You mean… you felt something when you said that Ginny’s your other half?” she questioned, and Harry nodded.

“Something…” he trailed off, looking back at his mug.

“You haven’t talked to her about it yet, have you?” James asked, and Harry shook his head.

“I just recently figured it out,” he started, “plus, I can’t remember the memory that goes along with the tattoo.”

“But the feelings are there?” James emphasized, and Harry nodded his head slowly. There was a blush creeping up his cheeks, and he pushed at the uneasy feeling in his stomach at the conversation topic. Euphemia looked at her grandson carefully, and then cleared her throat.

“Who wants to play a game?” she said, and the attention was pulled away from Harry immediately. As Rose stood up, already heading for where the large selection of magical and muggle games are stored on the bookshelf, Euphemia winked at Harry.

He beamed back at her.

**(…)**

Harry woke up on Christmas morning to the sound of his sister attempting to scare him awake. Every year, she’d creep into his room and yell as loudly as she could to wake him (and everyone else, for that matter) up, before racing down the stairs laughing manically.

This year, Harry thought, would make up for it all.

As her feet got closer, Harry took a deep breath. When her feet stop moving, he moved like he was simply shifting in his sleep, off his chest onto his back. He waited a beat.

“WHAT!?” he yelled, and Rose screamed, falling backwards onto the floor in fright. It took a few moments for the rest of the house to wake, and James is standing in front of them before Harry can begin laughing.

“EVERY BLOODY YEAR!” James practically yelled, and Harry doubled over with laughter, absolutely beside himself. Rose looked close to tears, which served her right.

 She stood up with a huff, glaring at her brother before stalking off out the door.

“Bloody wanker,” she said behind her, and Harry laughed, already feeling like it was the best Christmas yet.

By the time everyone made their way downstairs, Binky and the other house elf Windy had made cups of tea and gathered some biscuits. Lily shook her head at each of her kids, letting them know that she was not amused at their yuletide tradition.

“’Ackages, for the loud ones, arrived early ‘is mornin’,” Windy said, indicating to where he’d placed the packages under the tree. James snickered at how he addressed his kids.

“Loud ones, indeed,” he said, patting Harry on the head as he sat down near the fire, already crackling behind the grate.

“They’re from Ron, Hermione, and Ginny,” Rose said as she inspected the packages, and Harry bit his bottom lip at the way his stomach fluttered at Ginny’s name.

“Did you two send them gifts?” Euphemia said, pulling her housecoat tighter around her shoulders. Harry and Rose nodded, and their grandmother nodded in approval.

“Harry, would you like to pass out the presents?” James asked, and Harry nodded, standing up and moving over to the tree. He started with the small gifts for Binky and Windy, and the house elves bowed low as Harry handed them the packages. They were beside themselves each year, even though they always received gifts from the family. As they skirted away, Harry began passing the presents to their intendeds, pretending to drop a few of Rose’s as he went.

She was never amused.

After all of the presents were handed out, Fleamont raised his cup of tea, and they all mimicked him.

“Happy Christmas,” he said, and everyone took a drink.

Rose began opening her presents right away, and she ripped the paper off as she went. Harry went slower, deciding to pick up Hermione’s gift first. She had gotten better, over the years, at giving presents that didn’t revolve around reading or school work. And as Harry stripped away the final pieces of wrapping paper, his almost felt disappointed at the sight of a book until he saw the note.

“ _I found this book while doing research. It’s in Russian, but there’s an easy way to translate it so you can read it. It’s about half souls, and what the Russian’s believe they know. – Mione”_

Harry smiled, feeling the leather of the book in his hands. He put it aside, knowing his parents would be interested in reading it along with him later, and turned to Ron’s gift. He nearly gasped when he realized it was a book as well, but when he saw the title, he shoved it under the wrapping paper near his feet and groaned.

Rose looked at him, and he simply shook his head.

But then he realized that Rose was looking at the gift that was from Ginny, and her eyes were lit up in a way that made Harry want to swear at her. His grandparent’s gentle laughter forced him to be quiet.

The package was small, and as he unwrapped it, he could feel a strange weight to it. He folded the paper by his side, knowing that Rose was watching, and looked at the black box in his hands. It was strangely similar to the box he’d given Ginny, that had contained the necklace, and his chest tightened.

Inside was a simply decorated pin, that sat horizontal along the clasping. The animal was hard to distinguish, but it looked to be a lion, and sat inside it’s mouth was a bright red stone, that twinkled at Harry in the light from the tree.

“Wow,” he heard Rose say, and when he looked up, she was right next to him, her eyes wide.

“What is it?” James asked from across the room, his neck craning to see what Rose and Harry were huddled around. Harry held up the pin easily, and it sparkled as the firelight reflected through the stone.

“Is that a pin? Like a lapel pin?” Fleamont asked, his voice colored with humor. Harry simply nodded and handed it over.

“It looks quite old,” James said, and then his eyes lit up again.

“Is this from Ginny?” Lily said, seemingly reading her husbands mind. Rose nodded for Harry as he picked up the note that came with the gift.

_“It’s ruby, which is your birthstone. Muggles believe it helps with healing, and boosts your sense of adventure, as if you need that. – Gin”_

Harry smiled, knowing she’d remembered how he’d given her the necklace, and the meanings of the stone she now wore around her neck religiously.

“It’ll look great with your dress robes, especially at your wedding,” Rose said, glancing at her parents.

“Yeah,” Harry mumbled, too busy staring at the note to fully grasp what she said. When her words processed, he squawked.

“Wait, what?!”

The room filled with laughter, and Harry took the pin back from James and pinned it to his coat.

**(…)**

Ron watched his sister carefully, his eyes on the corners of her eyes as she laughed at something Fred said. The family was crammed around the table of the house they’d rented to visit Charlie, and the fire was keeping the place relatively warm without heating charms. It was cozy, and exactly what his family liked.

Ginny had woken up that morning looking dreadful, and Ron suspected she hadn’t been sleeping well the entire trip by the way she’d plopped down on the couch and almost fallen asleep on Bill. Fleur began to fuss, and soon Ginny was curled into Fleur’s side, looking exhausted as the family sang carols quietly.

Rose and Harry had sent presents, and Ginny’s face had lit up like the sun when she’d found out. She had never told Ron what she’d gotten Harry, though he had a feeling Harry would tell him regardless.

Molly was hovering too, and it concerned Ron even more that Molly was picking up on it with everything happening around them. Victorie was taking up so much of everyone’s attention, that Ron was surprised he’d noticed himself.

“You boys better be careful, or I’m sure Dumbledore could think of something as punishment, students or not,” Arthur said, breaking Ron out of his thoughts. Fred and George had been patting themselves on the back ever since they’d heard that Hermione and Ron had gotten caught in their little mistletoe traps, though they’d been glum that Dumbledore had figured them out so easily.

“As I heard it, Dumbly seemed to like the lift in spirits,” Fred said, and Ron almost had to agree. It had been a strange term, with the Dementor disappearances, and the increased security around the school. No one was used to that kind of strange activity in the wizarding world, not since the downfall of Tom Riddle.

“Well, regardless,” Molly said as she walked over and gently ran her fingers through Ginny’s hair. The youngest Weasley smiled up at her mother.

“Come off it, mum. The only prank that actually did any harm was the snow, and that was only because the Slytherin’s had to sit with everyone else for the rest of the day. Ron and Hermione were quite cozy that morning,” Ginny waggled her eyebrows, and Molly looked at Ron with a soft expression.

“So that’s finally happened?” Bill asked, and Ron’s cheeks flushed a deep maroon.

“What does that mean?” Ron retorted, and Ginny bit back a snort.

“It means you two have been making heart eyes at each other for years,” Ginny explained, watching as her mother’s face twisted into a strange smile.

“When did this happen?” Arthur asked, looking up from Victorie, who was cuddle into his lap with her toy bunny.

“The end of last term,” Ginny said as Ron bumbled over his words, and Fred and George gaped at Ron.

“We thought it was at Harry’s party!” they said together, but Ginny shook her head.

“Oh, no no no. They were all cuddly after we won the Quidditch Cup last year,” she explained, and Ron glared at her.

“Ginny,” he practically hissed, but she shrugged.

“You’re the one who hasn’t formally told our lovely family that you’re seeing someone,” she said, her lips ticked up. All hints of exhaustion were gone from her eyes, and Ron pursed his lips.

“You know, Hermione and I weren’t the only ones getting particularly cozy that morning with the snow, as I recall,” Ron began, and Ginny narrowed her eyes at him. The family turned to look at Ginny, and she could see the hint of mischief in the twin’s eyes.

“Oh? George said, looping his arm around Ginny. She squirmed.

“What _are_ you talking about, Ronald?” she asked, and Ron simply shrugged.

“You know, Ginevra,” he said, and then he turned away to start a conversation with Bill, leaving the room to stare at Ginny with piqued interest.

She blushed, because she knew exactly what he was talking about.

**(…)**

The days between Christmas and New Years flew by, and Harry spent most of them having internal arguments with himself. Exploring the magical community nearby was always on the agenda with Rose, and they spent two days hanging out in the small collection of shops, drinking hot cider and amusing the shop owners. They came very year, and many of the owners never changed, so they told them about their times at school and what they’d been up too.

As much as he tried to avoid it, many people caught a glimpse of his tattoo, and asked loads of questions. It was tiring, and eventually Rose took over and explained it in quick succession. The news spread around the small community, and when they went skiing three days after Christmas, people on the slopes had already heard.

They left France on the 29th, heading through international ports until they arrived in London, Rose showing the exhaustion from apparating the most. It was late in the day when they arrived back at Potter Manor, and Rose slumped up the stairs with lots of huffing and threats to kill anyone who woke her up before noon the next day.

No one argued with her, as they all agreed.

They spent the next day cleaning, though the house was nearly spotless when they’d left. The furniture of the sitting room was pushed aside, or into another room altogether, and Lily set up multiple tables along the outer wall, ready for the food and drinks they’d have for the party. Rose and Harry were in charge of the upstairs, moving from room to room to make sure everything was stowed away and doors locked shut against Fred and George.

Molly was the first to arrive the next day, as she and Lily always took all day in the kitchen, baking and drinking. Rose and Harry hugged her enthusiastically before going back to work. As soon as she heard them stomp out of sight, bickering about who had to clean the spare bedroom, Lily gave Molly an excited smile.

“What’s that look for, dear?” Molly asked, dropping the bag she’d been lugging and pulling ingredients out.

“Harry’s figured it out,” she said, and Molly nearly dropped the flour in her hand.

“He did?” she hissed, walking around the counter to stand next to Lily, eyes wide. Lily nodded quickly, clapping her hands together.

“And?” Molly said, her cheeks bright. Lily just kept nodding, and Molly had to reach up to still her movements.

“Arthur was right,” Lily said, and Molly covered her mouth to keep from making too much noise.

“He was?” she asked, and Lily took Molly’s hands.

“He said it, out loud, and felt it,” Lily explained in a whisper, listening for the sounds of her rowdy children. When she heard them upstairs, still bickering, she laughed joyously.

“How’s his mood been?” Molly asked, and Lily tilted her head to the side, waiting for the sound of Rose’s raised voice to reach Molly’s ears.

“How long have- oh,” Molly said, understanding now. It wasn’t often that Harry and Rose bickered as they were now, and Molly was surprised she hadn’t picked up on it before.

“You know, come to think of it,” she began, pursing her lips carefully. “Ginny has been rather… crabby, and she hasn’t been sleeping well.”

Lily’s eyebrows came together at the last part, and Molly waited.

“I never had an issue sleeping until I had been sleeping next to James for months and then had our first night apart,” Lily said, and Molly thought back in time.

“I didn’t sleep apart from Arthur for years…” Molly trailed off.

“Do you think they’ve shared a bed?”

“I don’t know,” Molly said, looking up when James walked into the kitchen. He was watching them carefully, his brows together.

“Are you two already planning the wedding?” he joked, and Lily laughed softly.

“Molly says Ginny is having trouble sleeping,” she said, and James’ brows came together even more.

“Already? Have they even shared a bed yet?”

“How are we to know?” Molly asked, and James walked over to his wife, wrapping an arm around her.

“She said she was having issues at the beginning of term too,” Molly mumbled, her mind working to piece together a timeline of when it all started.

“Do you mind if I ask her about it, in passing?” Lily asked Molly, and Molly nodded eagerly.

“She’s been snippy with me lately, though when she sees Harry, that’ll all change,” Molly said with a laugh, and James nodded.

“Maybe Harry will stop pulling Rose’s proverbial pigtails,” he grumbled as Rose yelled something upstairs. There was a moment of quiet, and then stomping down the stairs. James and Lily sighed.

**(…)**

The sky was beginning to darken when Harry heard new voices in the living room, and he looked out his door towards the stairs to listen. He’d been avoiding Rose all day after James and Lily had to separate them, and Harry knew it was mostly his fault. He’d been in a lousy mood for days, and he knew exactly why.

“It looks lovely, as always,” Ron’s voice floated up, and Harry’s heart jumped into his throat. He put the book down he’d been reading and hurried into the hallway, smiling at Rose over his shoulder as she followed him down the stairs.

“It’s missing a punch bowl,” Fred said as Harry rounded the corner into the living room. Ron saw him first, and he rushed over to give Harry a huge hug.

“Harry! How are you, mate?” he asked loudly, and Harry patted his best friends back. Fred and George came over as well, and Harry groaned as all three of them hugged him tightly. He could see Bill and Charlie laughing near the fireplace, Percy talking with James quietly. He looked around some more, and Ron caught on to what he was doing as they released Harry.

“Ginny’s putting our bags away in the office. She was last awake this morning, so she lost,” Ron said, and Harry nodded. He disentangled himself from them, ignoring how all of the Weasley brothers were looking at him, and headed off down the hall.

“Ginny?” he said as he walked down the hall, looking into the office. It was empty, aside from the multiple bags from the Weasley kids. They always slept over the night after the party, Molly and Arthur and now Fleur and Victorie included. It was a tradition that they’d never broken.

He felt his stomach drop at the empty room, but then he heard rustling in the bathroom, and he turned around as the door opened and Ginny stepped out, her eyes on her hands. Harry’s breath caught in his throat as she looked up at him, a smile already forming on her face.

“Harry!” she practically breathed, rushing across the hall and throwing her arms around his shoulders. Harry hugged her back, picking her up off the ground and holding her to his chest, her face in his neck. She trembled slightly, and then relaxed into his embrace as Harry rested his lower back against the wall for support. She had become heavy as she relaxed, and Harry pushed his fingers up into her hair gently.

“Hi,” he said with a chuckle, and he heard her laugh against his skin.

“Hi,” she replied, snuggling against his shoulder. He heard her breathe deeply, and let it out slowly.

“You alright?” he mumbled, and she nodded against him.

“I’m just very tired,” she replied, her arms tightening around his shoulders.

“It’s holiday,” he said, rubbing her back gently. Something about her breath against his skin made his stomach flutter, and the heavy weight of her tired body relieved the vibrations he’d been feeling in his head.

“I know,” she sighed, “but I haven’t slept much.”

Harry hummed, pushing himself off the wall. Ginny let go of his shoulders and slid down his body, until her feet hit the floor with a soft thud. She stayed right against him though, her eyes heavy.

“Come on, let’s go sit in a big comfy chair,” he said, slipping an arm around her shoulders. She smiled up at him as he squeezed her.

“I missed you,” she said softly, and Harry nearly sighed.

“I missed you too,” he whispered, pulling her down the hallway back into the now nearly empty living room.

He ignored the look Ron gave him and sat down in the armchair. Ginny plopped down into his lap, her head tucking under his chin, and was asleep in seconds.

“Typical,” Ron said, and Harry glared up at him, nodding to the chair next to him.

“Are you going to come tell me about your holiday, or not?” Harry asked, and Ron ambled over, his annoyed expression gone in a moment.

Molly wandered in a few minutes later, a plate of scones floating by her shoulder, and stopped at the sight of Harry and Ginny in the chair. Ginny was sitting across Harry’s lap, her head tucked up under his chin and against his shoulder. Harry had a hand on her back, rubbing small circles, and on her knee. Ron didn’t seem fazed in the slightest, and Molly was surprised to see how peaceful Ginny looked.

“Scones?” she asked, and Harry and Ron looked up. Harry seemed to blush under her knowing look, but Molly brushed it off with a smile.

“It’s good to see her asleep,” Molly said as Harry and Ron took scones.

“Has she… not been sleeping at all, this holiday?” Harry asked as Lily walked in, a smile lighting up her face at Harry and Ginny. Harry blushed under her gaze.

“Not that we could tell,” Ron said quietly, and Harry looked at Ginny’s face. She’s fallen asleep on him almost instantly, and he smiled as her lips moved. He knew everyone was watching him as he reached up and touched her cheek gently.

“I wonder why,” he mumbled, and Molly shifted on her feet.

“Half souls have trouble sleeping apart,” Lily said it as a casual comment, and Harry looked up at his mother.

“We’ve never slept together,” Harry said defensively, and Lily held up her hands.

“I’m not saying you have, I’m just saying. Sleep issues might be how Ginny’s half of the soul reacts to being apart,” Lily explained quietly, and Harry sighed heavily.

“That’s cruel,” he said, and Lily shrugged.

“The souls will do everything they can, to be together,” was all she said as she and Molly walked away quietly; leaving Ron and Harry to look at Ginny’s sleeping face.

**(…)**

“Have you told her yet?”

“Hermione-“

“Harry, you gotta tell her, mate.”

“Will you two-“

“If you don’t, we will.”

“Will all three of you just go away?” Harry grumbled, looking at Hermione, Ron, and Rose with annoyance. Harry had walked up to his room to get away from the crowd for a bit, and Hermione had been the first to follow. Ginny had been engaged in a loud discussion with James about Quidditch when Harry had left, and he assumed she was still there now.

“It’s nearly midnight,” Ron said, waggling his eyebrows.

“What are you on about? Are you encouraging me to kiss your sister?” Harry pointed at Ron’s chest, and Rose snorted as Ron rolled his eyes.

“I’m encouraging you to kiss your other half,” Ron said, and Hermione hiccupped delightfully.

“You’re all drunk,” Harry said, and Hermione shrugged.

“Doesn’t mean we aren’t right,” Hermione said, looking entirely smug. Harry rolled his eyes, standing up and heading for the door.

“You’re all annoying,” he said as he walked into the hallway, stopping short as he saw Ginny coming up the last stair. He felt Ron, Hermione, and Rose behind him, and Rose snickered.

“We’ll leave you two alone,” Rose said, and they hurried back down the stairs, past a confused Ginny. They waved her off, and she looked at Harry with furrowed brows.

“What’s their deal?” she asked, and Harry tried to shrug nonchalantly.

“They’re drunk,” he said as she walked closer, looking up at him with a smile. After she’d woken up from her nap against his chest, her mood had improved greatly. She’d pushed off him with a smile and changed into a dress right as Hermione arrived, and they hadn’t had a quiet moment alone since.

“I see you’re wearing the pin,” Ginny said, reaching up to touch the lion’s head pin. Harry nodded, watching as her fingers grazed the fabric of his shirt.

“I got you something, in France,” he said as his heart leapt into his throat again, taking her hand in his and pulling her into his bedroom. She followed with a soft giggle, her hand warm.

He searched around his nightstand for a moment, and she sat down on his bed with a soft sound. When he found the gift, he held it up for her with a smile.

“Rose and I found it in this shop in the little village there, and I think Rose got one for herself, but a different color,” he said as she took the paper bag, looking inside with great interest. She smiled as she pulled out the piece of fabric, the dark green color making her smile.

“Are all of your gifts for me going to be green from now on?” Ginny joked, holding up the scarf. She hooked it around her neck in an exaggerated movement, and Harry laughed.

“I might sneak a blue in there, eventually,” he said, sitting down next to her. She flipped her hair out of the scarf and adjusted it on her chest before smiling up at him.

“It’s incredibly soft,” she said, and Harry swallowed as she burrowed into it.

“As scarves are meant to be,” Harry chuckled, earning a glare from Ginny.

They were quiet for a moment, the sounds from the party downstairs echoing up into the room. Harry looked at his watch to check the time until the new year.

Fifteen minutes.

“Ginny,” he began, and she looked at him, eyes soft.

“Yeah?” she said, turning on the bed so she was facing him better. She kicked off her shoes and they hit the floor with a dull thud.

“Do you remember how we met?” he asked, and she worried her bottom lip for a moment.

“It was at something like this, right? Your parents invited my parents over, and we were sat together on the grass,” she said, shrugging. Harry nodded, shifting on the bed.

“You don’t remember anything specific?” he asked, and she frowned.

“I think you and Ron played Quidditch, but I don’t know. It’s been such a long time, we were little kids,” she said, reaching up to touch his shoulder. “Why?”

“I’ve been trying to wrack my brain, and remember it, but I can’t,” he said, hoping she’d catch on to his line of thought.

“It’s not that important, is it?” she said, and he sighed heavily.

“Well, I’ve been thinking so much about how I’ve met all of these people in my life, because of my tattoo, and I can’t remember meeting you,” he said softly, looking at her. His stomach was fluttering nervously, and he realized with a start that they were both a little drunk off the punch.

“Mum always said I said something that made you scoff,” she said, her eyes glazing over as she thought back. Harry looked at his watch.

Ten minutes.

“I was a cheeky little brat,” Ginny said, shaking her head. She grimaced suddenly, and Harry watched as she reached up.

“Ow, the scarf is caught on my necklace,” she said, and Harry moved quickly to pull her hair up off her neck. Ginny unwound the scarf and tried to pull it off, but the necklace came with it.

“Here, take it off and I’ll untangle it,” Harry said, and he watched as Ginny undid the clasp. As the necklace and scarf fell into Harry’s hands, Ginny’s face went slack. Harry’s eyes were on the tangle as Ginny’s eyes glazed over, and by the time he looked back up, necklace and scarf separate, Ginny’s eyes were shut.

“Ginny?” he asked, reaching out to touch her shoulder. She jumped at the contact, her eyes flying open to look at him. She looked at the necklace, and then at Harry, her eyes wide.

“What’s wrong?” he asked, his stomach filling with worry.

Seven minutes.

“I…,” she trailed off, her cheeks flushing. She reached over and touched Harry’s wrist, and he felt a tingle run up his spine.

_The backyard was bright and warm as Molly carried Ginny out the backdoors, having finally arrived after waking up from her nap. Arthur had brought her along and was now standing in the kitchen, talking to Lily as she cooked. The boys were spread about the yard, and Molly smiled as she saw Fred and George sitting on either side of little Rose, holding up one of their toys for her to play with._

_“Do you want to play with Ron?” Molly said, and Ginny nodded sleepily._

_It was the first time the family’s had ever come together, and the kids were exploring the Potter’s expansive backyard with great wonder. Harry and Ron had drifted together easily, and Molly was happy to see them sitting on the ground, one of the kid snitches floating between them._

_“Ron, Ginny wants to play with you,” Molly said, and Ron looked up at his mother with a sigh._

_“Okay,” he said, scooting over so Ginny could sit next to him. Molly placed Ginny down easily, and looked at Harry._

_“Harry, this is Ginny, Ron and the boys younger sister. Ginny, this is Harry,” Molly said, introducing them softly. She walked away after they waved at each other, Harry’s hand reaching up to grab the toy snitch after a moment. He let it go, and Ginny grabbed it out of the air after watching it flutter for a moment. Harry grinned at her._

_“I’m gonna be a famous Quidditch player,” Harry said to Ginny, and she rolled her eyes at him._

_“You wish!”_

Harry came out of the memory with a start, and he looked around as his vision cleared. Ginny was standing up, across the room from him, hands clasped in front of her.

“Did you- was that… what?” he said, looking at the necklace in his hands. Ginny made a small noise, and Harry looked up to see her eyes shining at him.

“You saw that too?” she whispered, and Harry nodded. He glanced at his watch.

Two minutes.

“So… we’re… I’m…” Ginny stumbled over her words, and Harry stood up, walking over to her, not breaking eye contact. He could hear everyone downstairs getting rowdy as he came to a stop in front of her.

“I actually had a speech planned out, how I was going to tell you I’d figured it out,” he mumbled, reaching up to touch her cheek. She stared up at him, the sides of her mouth twitching.

“I bet it was filled with lots of stuttering and stumbling and plenty of ‘well, ums’, right?” she joked, and Harry nodded, bringing his other hand up to grip her arm.

“I would have loved to see that,” she whispered, and Harry laughed shakily.

“That memory ruined my moment. Where did that… did that happen when you took off the necklace?” he said, and she nodded, looking at the necklace in his hands. He released her and shoved the necklace in his pocket.

“You did say it has magical powers,” Ginny said quietly as Harry’s hands moved back to her, one of them pushing up into her hair. The air in the room had become thick, and she could barely hear the cheers and yelling downstairs.

“I didn’t know it would block you from remembering something so important,” Harry whispered, and Ginny’s eyelids fluttered as she brought her hands up to grip his sides.

“Ginny?” he said, and she looked at him expectantly. Downstairs, someone shouted that there was twenty seconds until midnight.

“Yes?” she replied, and he squeezed her neck gently.

“Can I kiss you?”

The question was barely audible, but Ginny heard it over everything else. There was a countdown going on downstairs as she smiled at Harry.

“You wish,” she said in a sarcastic tone, and when he furrowed is brow, she rolled her eyes. The countdown was at five.

“Yes,” she breathed, pushing up on her toes and meeting him halfway as his lips came down on hers.

The kiss was warm and tentative at first, but then something broke in his chest as Harry wrapped his arm around Ginny’s waist, pushing his hand farther into her hair, and a pleasant warmth spread out from the tingling feeling under his ribcage all the way to his toes, and he kissed her a little harder.

She let out a soft moan, somewhere in the back of her throat, and Harry saw stars behind his eyelids.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just so y'all know how much I love you, I was going to save that ending until the next chapter, and make you all wait for it. As it stands, I'd feel super weird taking it out, so you're all graced with what this chapter became.
> 
> But how y'all doing? Anyone need anything? Feel free to yell at me in the comments :)


	11. New Year

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do dearly apologize for the wait, and there's a longer explanation at the bottom. Also, mass love to all LGBT individuals today. I love you lots.

Downstairs, the crowd gathered in the living room surged and swelled together, arms wrapping around friends, and kisses being dispensed like candy. The noise level shot up as the man on the wireless welcomed everyone to the year 1998, and Ron ducked his head quickly to kiss Hermione before Fred and George started teasing him, as drunk as they were. Rose watched on with laughter until they turned their attention to her, squealing as they corralled her into a hug and pressed a kiss to each of her cheeks.

However, the flurry of activity, the drunk festivities, barely pierced through the bubble surrounding Harry and Ginny as they stood, lips pressed firmly together in something more than a chaste New Year’s kiss.

They broke apart with a quiet _smack_ , their chests heaving as they both took in a deep breath. Harry didn’t dare open his eyes, his mind a whirlwind of so many questions and feelings that he was sure Ginny would be able to read in his eyes. He, instead, pressed kisses along her cheeks until he was kissing her neck, and he heard her moan in the back of her throat again.

“Harry,” she breathed, somewhat desperately, and he pressed a final kiss to her jaw line, acting on a random impulse, before pulling back to look at her.

Her eyes were bright in the dim light of his bedroom, shining up at him as though the sun. He stared at her lips for longer than was probably necessary, his eyes moving along the lines of her face to stare into her eyes. She didn’t look away, didn’t seem unfazed in the slightest besides the pink on her pale cheeks.

“Wow,” he whispered, at a loss for any other words. He knew she was amused at his lack of tact by the crinkle at the corners of her eyes.

“I… when did you…” she trailed off, so many questions pressed against the roof of her mouth, so many answers she wanted to desperately hear, and she was hyperaware that their family and friends were right downstairs.

“When did I… figure it out?” Harry supplied, and she nodded, her arms still wrapped tightly around his torso. He massaged the back of her head, and her eyelids fluttered slightly. The cacophony that had been drumming in his chest for the past week was suddenly quiet, and tranquility settled against his ribs.

“Uh, the week before exams,” he said, and her brow knitted together.

“Your Patronus lesson,” she whispered against his collarbone, and he nodded.

“Yeah, actually,” he laughed, and she seemed to mull that thought over for a moment.

“I thought you and Ron looked weird when I came to grab him… is that what you were talking about? _Me_?” she nearly squeaked, and she blushed deeper. Harry nodded, moving his hand from around her shoulder to cup her face, keeping his other wrapped up in her… _incredibly soft hair_.

“Why didn’t you say anything then? Oh Merlin, the mistletoe! What would you have done if we had gotten caught in that?” she asked as he stroked her cheek, and he shrugged.

“I would have kissed you,” he said simply, and she rolled her eyes.

“You would have had some explaining to do,” she replied, her voice indignant, and he smiled softly at her.

“You’re mad I didn’t tell you earlier,” he perceived, and she huffed.

“Well… yeah,” she said, and they laughed together, their breaths mingling in the small space between them. It was exhilarating, Harry thought, to be this close and be able to lean in again, and maybe capture Ginny’s lips in another kiss.

“I wasn’t entirely… sure, to be frank,” he confessed, and she raised an eyebrow at him.

“How so?”

“Well,” he started, knowing this was what she really wanted, to hear him stammering over his explanation. It made him smile and the tranquility of his chest spread to his arms.

“I couldn’t remember how we’d met, and I didn’t want to assume and be… wrong. I told Ron my plan was to see how I was over the break, and see what happened when we spent more than a few hours apart. But it became clear, by the middle of exam week, that I wasn’t wrong, but I still didn’t want to tell you, because then we were going to be apart for a few days and…” he trailed off, his voice going quiet, and Ginny smiled at him.

“I know,” she said, and he knew she truly did. He’d felt the way she’d fallen against him in the hallway, how her arms had clung to him, and how quickly she’d fallen asleep against his side.

“I was miserable to be around this week,” he said, and she quirked an eyebrow at him.

“Aren’t you always?” she joked, and he laughed, the sound carrying in the room.

“Ron told me you barely slept,” he said, and she nodded, looking a bit sheepish.

“Yeah… well, I don’t know,” she sighed heavily. “I seem to sleep better when you’re around. Always did have a habit of falling asleep against you.”

They shared a smile at that, and Harry could feel the calm radiating off Ginny.

“I’m…” she trailed off, but Harry had a feeling he knew exactly what she was feeling. Caressing her cheek with his knuckles, he smiled. He did know, because it was settling into his chest, and by the look on Ginny’s face, they both understood that they were feeling each other’s emotions closely.

“Amazed,” Harry finished her thought.

“Happy,” she added, and he felt that too. He felt it all over like the warm breeze of summer.

Somewhere in the back of his mind, he heard her asking him to kiss her again, and he couldn’t help but oblige. She moved her arms from around his torso to his shoulders, and he lifted her up by the small of her waist to hold her as tightly as he could. He could hear her happy laughter, in the same place he’d heard the request for another kiss, and kissed her with a bit more enthusiasm.

Reality crashed down around them in the form of a very loud sound from downstairs, and Harry pulled back with a soft sigh as they listened. It sounded like James was getting riled up, and they looked at each other as the joyous yelling continued.

“Who else knows?” Ginny asked, still held up off the ground and tight against Harry’s chest. He made to put her down, but she wrapped her legs around his waist and held on, an impish grin on her face. Harry could feel his cheeks flare up, but powered through.

“Um… everyone, probably? I told Ron first, and only Ron. Then, remember that morning you fell asleep on the couch and Ron and Hermione rushed off to breakfast? Hermione figured it out then; I guess I was gazing at you or something…” Harry mumbled the last bit, and Ginny giggled against his shoulder. He staggered slightly over to the bed and sat down, the exertion from holding them both up causing his legs to collapse.

“Hermione has a big mouth,” Ginny said, moving with Harry without thought up the bed until he was sitting against the headboard. She straddled his lap, her hands placed flat against his chest.

“I think she kept the secret,” Harry reached up to touch her face. “I think Rose always knew, but never _really_ knew, if you know what I mean. And so when I told my family the day we got to France, she was fairly smug.”

“Do my parents know?” Ginny asked, reaching up to cover the hands on her cheeks with her own and give them a squeeze. Harry looked slightly constipated before he explained.

“Your dad… might have figured it out in August.”

“What?” Ginny said loudly, and Harry placed his thumbs over her mouth to remind her to keep quiet. She shook her head.

“August? When in August?” she asked, and Harry shrugged.

“Mum didn’t specify, but I’d assume probably around your birthday,” he said, and she bit her bottom lip.

“So they definitely know,” she said, and he nodded.

“I think all of your brothers do, actually,” he said, and she groaned.

“That’s going to be fun,” she pulled his hands off her face and moved to hide her face in his neck, her lips coming into contact with his skin. He sucked in a sharp breath at the soft sensation of her eyelashes against his skin.

“It’ll be interesting,” he said, and she pulled back, the loss of sensation on his skin making him pout.

“Going back to _Hogwarts_ is going to be interesting,” she said, and he widened his eyes at her.

“I think the prevailing sentiment will be something along the lines of ‘I had a feeling’, as that’s how Ron and Hermione reacted,” Harry explained, and Ginny nodded. She ducked her head down and kissed along his jaw and back into his neck.

“You can hear that too?” he asked, running his hands up her back and into her hair. He pulled her head back gently and they looked at each other, chests heaving slightly. There was a feeling of agreement in his head.

“Somewhere near your right ear?” she asked, and Harry nodded.

“I could hear your laughter earlier,” he said, and Ginny seemed to fight the smile on her face.

“I can tell you want to do things other than snog,” she said softly, and he blushed into his hairline.

“Yeah, well, you do too,” he said, and they laughed together, the slight anxiety at the new situation dissipating from their chests with the air they expelled.

“This _is_ a bit weird,” Harry agreed to the thought that passed through his mind, not his own. Ginny chewed the inside of her cheek before leaning up to kiss him. Her lips were warm, and swollen from the kisses they’d already shared, and Harry hadn’t even realized he wanted to kiss her again until it was happening.

When they had been kids, Ginny had taken to kissing each of her brothers on the cheek, whenever they’d let her. She spent all summer long giving the brothers who’d inevitably be going back to Hogwarts lots of sloppy and messy cheek kisses. This had, almost naturally, been extended to Harry and Rose as well, and every time Ginny and Ron would leave the Potter’s, or Harry and Rose was getting ready to leave the Burrow, Ginny would step up on her toes and press a soft kiss to Harry’s cheek.

She’d stopped giving cheek kisses when she’d turned ten, but every now and then, she was known to plant one on the cheek of any unsuspecting brother, and Harry. The last time she’d kissed his cheek had been after they’d won the Quidditch Cup, happy with glee, arms wrapped around each other, eyes shifting to where Ron and Hermione had been in the crowd, snogging blatantly.

Truth is, Harry thought as he moved his lips over Ginny’s, they’d always been rather tactile, and warm with each other. It was the side effect of growing up together, of being there for each other from when you’re small and the only thing you know to do to comfort someone is to hug them and kiss their cheek.

Harry could tell that the thought of proper kissing, a snog or two, had crossed both of their minds over the years. And he laughed in the back of his mind, at how it might be weird, as they both agreed, but it was comfortable.

“That’s probably the whole half soul thing,” Ginny said as they broke apart, his nose disappearing against her neck. He laughed dryly.

“I’m not going to have a private thought for the rest of my life, am I?” he asked, and she shrugged, bringing his face back up to her. There was uncertainty building inside of him, and he could see it in how she worried her bottom lip.

“I can’t _believe_ you’re my other half,” she said it lightly, in joking tone, and Harry rolled his eyes.

“Stuck with each other for the rest of our lives,” he mumbled, and the sentiment echoed through their rib cages with a pleasant hum. Ginny smiled first.

“It can’t be that bad, look at our parents,” she whispered against his lips, and he pressed forward slightly to kiss her. It was gentle, and made his chest ache in a very wonderful way. He felt it in Ginny’s chest as well.

“Look at _us_ ,” Harry said, and they stilled their movements to stare at each other with wide eyes and noses touching. Ginny could feel the tranquility of her chest radiating into the other parts of her body, and Harry thought that was the light shining in her eyes.

“What do we do now?” she said, her voice uncertain. It was daunting, to realize that their entire relationship was already planned, already dictated by the half souls that were releasing calm waves of happiness through their bodies.

“I don’t know,” he confessed, nuzzling his nose against hers. She smiled at that, but it didn’t quite reach her eyes, and Harry could feel it in his chest.

“I don’t even have the tattoo yet,” Ginny looked at her arm, and Harry grabbed it gently, bringing it up to his lips to kiss. It was like an ingrained memory, something he’d done before, but could never actually remember doing. Something about the action caused more happiness in his chest.

“Yours is going to take up your entire arm,” he joked, and she swatted at his head gently.

“Stop, I’m not sure how I feel about it yet,” she whined, and he rolled his eyes at her. He could feel her excitement in the corner of his mind where her feelings and thoughts seemed to be coming from.

“What…” he started, and she picked up on the thought, groaning.

“Please don’t-“

“… if I called that part of my mind-“

“…finish that thought.”

“…the _soul patch_?” Harry finished, and Ginny let out a deep groan against his shoulder, but he could feel her laughing.

“Please… never call it that again,” she bemoaned, which only amused Harry greatly.

**(…)**

As the minutes passed by and midnight faded away, James looked down at his wife. The crowd of their living room hadn’t calmed down yet, though the drinking had stopped and everyone was looking ready to sleep. Sirius and Remus were still making jokes and acting as though the party had just started, and James couldn’t have been happier to see them entertaining sleepy Weasley’s.

Thinking of the Weasley’s, James looked around for the youngest one. She’d disappeared before midnight, after disengaging from the conversation they had been having about Quidditch with a strange look on her face, as though something was wrong. She’d mumbled something about finding Harry, and then less than a minute later, Ron, Hermione, and Rose had come down the stairs, looking entirely pleased with themselves.

“I’d assume Harry finally told Ginny,” Lily said, startling James from his thoughts. He looked down at where she sat, tucked into his side on the couch, and hummed.

“They’ve been up there, alone, for a long time,” he said, and Lily shrugged.

“They need it,” was all she said, and James fought the urge to sigh.

“Dear,” he started, and she shook her head.

“When we figured it out, we spent hours hidden away under your stupid cloak,” she said, looking up at him with an even glare. He knew she was right, of course, but with the glint in the twins’ eyes, he worried.

“Fred and George won’t do anything,” Lily said, and James pursed his lips.

“You felt it, didn’t you?” he mumbled, and though he knew she felt it, he could feel it deep in himself as well, and their thoughts echoed each other, he liked to hear it out loud.

“Yes,” she said softly, and he pressed a kiss to the side of her head.

They looked up as Molly walked back into the room, her arms laden with blankets. They’d all learned, a long time ago, that when Molly was piss drunk, she forgot to use magic for easy chores. It was very endearing.

“Blankets!” she exclaimed, and multiple party guests reached up for them. The Grangers, two lovely if a bit stiff dentists named Jack and Jean, took a blanket as they sat on one of the couches, listening to Bill explain his job for the umpteenth time that night. They’d long since ignored their daughter’s antics with Ron, sitting curled up in a single armchair, lips attached more often than not.

It was the alcohol, really, and James could only blame Sirius.

“’S been awhile since we’ve seen Harry or Ginny,” Molly said as she came over to stand in front of James and Lily, her eyes matching the twinkle the twins had. James could hear Lily’s laughter in his head, though her lips simply ticked up in a small smile.

“You felt it then?” Lily asked, and Molly nodded.

“Arthur did as well,” she said, sitting down on the other end of the couch.

“Should we distract the twins then?” Molly asked after a moment, and James nodded.

“We very much should.”

**(…)**

“Harry?”

“Hmm.”

They had been quiet for a moment, with Harry’s face hidden away in Ginny’s neck. They could hear noise form downstairs, the telltale sound of the twins becoming rowdy. And yet, they remained alone, wrapped around each other on the bed.

“Why do you think I was suddenly able to remember, when I took off the necklace?”

It had been a nagging thought of Harry’s as well, every since they’d fallen into silence. Or maybe it had been Ginny’s, he couldn’t tell.

“I don’t know,” he said, shifting so he could reach into his front pocket and pull the necklace out. It sparkled in the light, and Ginny reached down to take it from his hands. Easily, she reached up and clasped it around her neck.

Harry could feel it immediately, the disconnect from Ginny’s emotions and thoughts. He looked at Ginny, and they stared at each other for a long moment before Ginny reached up and took the necklace off again.

The relief was as immediate as the discomfort, and he could feel her anxiety, confusion, in his mind.

“What the hell?” he mumbled, taking the necklace form her and staring at it.

“You told me it had magical powers,” she said, and he looked at her critically. She could feel the annoyance in her chest.

“What kind of necklace, from a Muggle shop, does this?” he said, and Ginny shrugged.

“We could ask Sirius,” she offered, and Harry thought about that for a moment.

“Or Bill. Maybe there’s a spell on it,” he said, and she nodded. She made to move off his lap but he stopped her with a hand on her back, pulling her back in for a kiss.

“I’m not going to tire of this,” he mumbled, and she couldn’t tell if it was in her mind or aloud. She pressed against his lips, allowing her body to mold to the front of his, and she felt the sharp intake of breath against her cheek.

“Surely, soon, it’ll become boring,” she teased as she pulled her lips back, and he rolled his eyes at her, his arms tight around her shoulders. Her hand was still clasped around the necklace.

“Sirius,” she said, and Harry nodded.

“Bill.”

They disentangled, standing up and stretching out lazily. Harry took her hand easily, and squeezed it as she led the way out of the room. They stood in the hallway for just a moment to listen, trying to figure out who was still sitting in the living room.

When they’d finally made it to the bottom of the stairs, the first person they saw was Bill, standing in the hallway between the kitchen and living room, holding a bottle of champagne. When the last step creaked, he looked up and smiled wide at them, the sides of his eyes crinkling. Harry squeezed Ginny’s hand.

“You two,” Bill whispered, moving away from the doorway to the living room and into the shadows where Ginny and Harry had stopped.

“Where have you two been?” Bill said, his words slightly slurred. Ginny felt amusement prickling at the tips of her fingers.

“Talking,” Harry said easily, and Bill quirked an eyebrow. He shook his head and his hair was caught in his earrings. Harry felt a sense of nostalgia as Bill reached up to push his hair behind his ears and when he glanced at Ginny, she was smiling fondly.

_“Oh,”_ Harry thought, and he heard it echoed in the back of his mind.

“Looking awfully… pink, for just talking,” Bill teased, and Harry felt his face flush.

“We have a question, actually,” Harry said, and Bill tucked the bottle of champagne into his armpit so he could cross his arms.

“Have you not already had The Talk?” Bill joked, and Ginny reached out to slap him.

“No, it’s not about that. It’s about… a necklace, actually,” she said, holding up the necklace for Bill to see. His face changed in recognition.

“That’s the necklace Harry gave you, yeah? Haven’t seen you take it off since,” Bill teased, and Ginny impatiently placed the necklace into his palm.

“Can you… check, to see if there’s any sort of spells on it?” Harry asked, and Bill’s face changed entirely. He held the chain taught and held the pendant right in front of his eyes. Ginny tried not to laugh as he went cross-eyed.

“What makes you ask?” Bill said, placing the bottle on the ground to pull his wand out of his pocket. He bounced the necklace in his hand until it was all pooled together in his palm.

“It’s… hard to explain,” Harry said, and Ginny nodded.

“Is this a half soul thing?” Bill said, his voice completely serious. He mumbled something at the necklace, something in a language Harry didn’t understand, and the pendant glowed a soft pink.

“Yes,” Ginny said, watching the necklace she hadn’t taken off in months glow bright in her brothers hand.

“There’s something here,” Bill said, and Ginny looked up at Harry.

“You bought this in a _Muggle_ shop?” she said, her eyes bright with laughter. Harry could hear it in his head.

“It was in Muggle London, so I’d assume as much,” Harry replied, looking up as Bill grunted, his brow furrowed in thought.

“The spell is fairly recent, actually,” Bill said, and Ginny looked up as well, her eyes on the necklace, almost accusatory.

“How? I haven’t taken it off onc-“

She stopped, and Harry looked at her, the memory in her head playing in his head.

“That first Quidditch workout,” Harry said, and Bill was looking at them expectantly.

“Before I thought to use the sticking charm, to keep it on my neck, I was wearing it during one of the first workouts we did, and when we all came down to look at some drills, I realized it wasn’t there anymore. It eventually came flying out of the stands after trying to _Accio_ it several times,” Ginny explained, and Bill pursed his lips.

“It’s seems to be something of a memory charm,” Bill said, moving his wand again. The glow around the necklace changed, and Harry could see the runes now, floating around the pendant.

“You mean someone put a memory charm on the necklace?” Ginny asked, looking at Harry. He was staring at the runes, hoping he’d suddenly understand them. Bill hiccupped before he continued.

“You know, I’m quite drunk, so it’d be better if I… looked at this later,” he said, and Ginny and Harry nodded easily.

“Of course,” Ginny said, and Bill slipped the necklace into his pants pocket with ease, looking back at them slowly.

“I assume you’ll both be here in the morning?” Bill asked, bending down to pick up the champagne again. Harry looked at Ginny out of the corner of his eyes and saw her grinning.

“Certainly, aren’t we all?”

Bill rolled his eyes, but before he could continue, someone jumped around the corner.

“Billliam- oh, Harry and Ginny, there you two are!”

It was a very drunk Fred, and he was looking at his younger sister with a glint in his eyes. Molly came around the corner then, grabbing Fred by the collar.

“Dears, come join the party, finally,” she smirked at them, and Ginny squeezed Harry’s hand.

“I suppose,” she said, turning into Harry’s side, bending up to press a kiss to the corner of his mouth. Fred made a strange noise behind them.

“So they’ve figured it out, yeah!” Fred cheered, and as Ginny looked back over her shoulder, she saw him skip back into the living room. Bill followed him, leaving Molly standing there in the hall, a smile on her face.

“Come on, loves,” she waved at them, and Harry held up a finger.

“One moment, Molly,” he said, and she rolled her eyes at them.

“Yes, get all of your snogging done out here, lest the twins try to glue you together,” she mumbled, and Ginny laughed. She looked at Harry expectantly, and he bent down to kiss her softly.

“That wouldn’t be too bad,” she said, and he laughed against her lips.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, if you don't follow me on Tumblr, you wouldn't know that on Monday, my mother found out she has cancer again. I live thousands of miles away from my family, and so this is really difficult. My work has been very busy, as is the season, and there's just a lot happening at once. I'm going to be heading home in early July to help take care of my mother during chemo, and I truly hope to update again before then, and during that time when I have some quiet moments. I cannot promise any updates, as my life is a bit of a mess right now. This chapter isn't even as long as I wanted it to be, as I just really wanted to update and let you all know. 
> 
> I don't want to say this is on hiatus, but it's on the back burner of everything going on right now. I do so appreciate everyone's enthusiasm about this story, and the avid readers, but I have to take care of myself first. 
> 
> This story isn't over!!! I promise you, there's more to come. I just have to prioritize things. 
> 
> Thank you for reading. For updates, you can find me on tumblr, with the same username as here.


	12. They're Adjusting

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As an apology for how long it's been since I was able to update, I pushed this to over 6k words. It's unedited at the moment, because I finally finished it and am just posting it to get it up for you guys. I'll edit it later.

Harry woke up the next morning feeling warm.

Everyone had collectively decided to go to sleep around 3 am, and that was when Harry and Ginny had slipped out of the living room and back up the stairs to his bedroom. They’d spent almost three hours among their families, enduring some light teasing from the twins, and knowing looks from their parents. Sirius had stood before them and blessed their upcoming nuptials before collapsing on the floor with a soft whimper. Remus and Peter had carefully dragged Sirius into the corner and wrapped him up in a blanket before they too had passed out.

Harry could hear others moving and talking through the open door, and he pulled his eyes opened slowly. He glanced at his watch quickly, thanking the high heavens for a solid eight hours of sleep. He shifted, and expected the sound of blankets shifting, but instead heard a soft sigh.

_Oh._

He looked down, because the sigh hadn’t been aloud, and smiled.

He heard it, in his mind, a soft voice telling him to be quiet and to let her have five more minutes of sleep.

“Ginny,” he whispered, and she groaned aloud.

“Being in each other’s head,” ‘ _is so weird’_ , she finished in her head, and he heard the sentence without pause.

“I’m surprised mum and dad ever talk aloud,” he mused, reaching up to run his fingers through her hair. She was curled up in his side, her head on his shoulder and a leg curled between his. As he looked down, he saw that her dress had shifted up during the night, and she reached down to smooth the fabric along her skin.

“Stop ogling,” she teased, lifting her head up to look at him, her eyes twinkling. She scooted up a tad and bent down to kiss him. He threaded his fingers through her hair and kept her lips against his a moment  a moment longer.

“Your breath tastes like alcohol,” she mumbled against him, and he laughed.

“So does yours,” he countered, and she shrugged.

“We’ll thank the twins for that later.”

“I thought it was Sirius who spiked the punch.”

She blinked at him, and in his head, he could hear her laughing softly.

“Whoever it was, let’s thank them,” she said, moving back down to rest her head on his shoulder. He wrapped his arms around her again, a pleasant weight moving through his bones. It slipped over him like a bucket of warm water, soothing every single muscle and making him relax into the bed.

“I know,” she mumbled, and he grinned at the top of her head.

“Stop reading my thoughts,” he retorted, and she pressed a kiss to his chest.

“I would, if they stopped running through my mind,” she teased, and he laughed softly.

They stopped talking then, because it was a moment of clarity that they realized they didn’t have too. Harry could hear the stream of Ginny’s thoughts running through his head, a commentary on the night before, and he closed his eyes as he was pulled through the previous night from her perspective. It was disorientating, at first, to see himself in her mind, to experience a memory he already had but through another’s eyes.

_‘Do you reckon it’ll always be like this?’_

The question echoed through his head, and he looked down at Ginny. She had her eyes closed, brow furrowed, and a hand flat on his chest. He nudged her until she looked up at him, eyes hesitant.

‘ _I’m not sure.’_

She nodded as she sighed heavily, and there was a flurry of nervous energy sparkling up in his mind.

_‘This is the rest of our lives,’_ she stared up at him, and he nodded slowly. The thought had been nagging him since he’d gotten the tattoo, had found out he was a half soul; that his future was already planned.

_‘I’m sure it’s not entirely planned,’_ she was smirking at him, and he rolled his eyes.

“But isn’t it?” he said, and she pursed her lips.

“The only thing that’s certain is that we’ll be together in this lifetime, and the next,” she whispered, and he pushed on her shoulders until she scooted up the bed so their noses were touching.

“That’s so poetic,” he teased, and she rolled her eyes.

“It’s your life now,” she replied, and he pressed his lips against hers.

“What if we grow to hate each other?” he asked against her lips, and she laughed, the air moving across his face.

_‘I don’t think that’s possible.’_

She was smiling, so wide it pushed her cheeks up under her eyes. He smiled back, because it suddenly all felt silly, every nervous thought either of them had.

“I suppose there’s plenty of variables to our future,” he said, and she pressed her lips against his.

_‘There surely are.’_

**(…)**

Lily looked up as Harry and Ginny walked into the kitchen, hands clasped tightly between them. They looked rumpled from sleep, but their matching serene smiles had the corners of Lily’s mouth tugging up.

“Good morning,” she said quietly as Ginny walked over to the counter, eyeing the cup of hangover potion sitting there. She grabbed two mugs instead and began pouring cups of tea.

“Where is everyone?” Harry asked as he sat down next to his mother, and she hummed softly.

“Molly took most of the boys home, I think Ron is still on the couch, and Hermione left with her parents before you two woke up. Your dad is with the lads, at Sirius’ I believe,” Lily said with a smile, and Harry nodded. He looked up as Ginny sat a mug down in front of him, and he smiled at her softly. She sat down next to him.

“I can’t believe mum left Ron and I here,” Ginny said, and Lily rolled her eyes.

“Ron, despite having some of the hangover potion, insisted he wasn’t leaving the couch until next year,” Lily laughed, and Ginny rolled her eyes. She reached over and took Harry’s free hand, and their fingers slotted together. Lily hid her smile behind her cup.

“How are you two feeling?” she asked, and she watched as they looked at each other with matching blushes on their cheeks. A beat passed before Harry nudged Ginny and they both looked up, faces slightly embarrassed.

“Is it always… like this?” Harry asked, and Lily quirked her head.

“Like what?” she asked, amusement prickling at the back of her head. Harry seemed to flounder on his words, so Ginny spoke up, looking less embarrassed at the conversation topic.

“The constant stream of each other’s thoughts, the ability to like… talk, in our heads…” Ginny trailed off, and her lips curved into a smirk. Lily assumed it was something Harry had thought and pushed it aside.

“Not always,” she said, and their attention was brought back to her. She gripped her mug a little tighter.

“You’ll find that when you’re apart, you can’t hear each other as loudly. When you aren’t touching or in close proximity, the stream of thoughts is almost indistinguishable from your own. It also becomes less… intense, as time goes on,” Lily brought her cup to her lips, taking a slow sip.

“When it’s new,” she continued, “it can be almost consuming, and as your relationship progresses, the souls become more content, and the intensity fades a bit. But you’ll always be able to talk in your heads, and hear each other’s thoughts. Just… some day, you might have to listen a little closer to hear them.”

“How do Muggles handle this? It doesn’t seem so frightening to us, but we’re also regularly exposed to magic,” Harry laughed, and Lily shrugged.

“Remember, when you were younger, and I told you about how half souls were staring to mainly pick those in the magical community?” Lily asked, and as Harry nodded, she saw a flash of understanding wash over Ginny’s face as she picked up on Harry’s thoughts.

“I think that, over the years, and as the divide between the magical and muggle community became greater, the reactions to half souls started to turn negative, and those who were half souls didn’t take to it all that well. So, out of self preservation, half souls started seeking magical signatures, and over time they’ve started to mainly inhabit our community,” Lily explained slowly, watching the sunlight dance across the surface of her tea. Ginny hummed softly.

“Where did you read this theory?” she asked, and Lily waved her hand around in front of her.

“I’ve picked up on it, here and there. It’s mostly me putting things together from any information I’ve read over the years,” she replied, and Harry perked up suddenly.

“Speaking of that, we still have to translate that Russian book Hermione gave me,” he said, setting his tea down and standing from his chair. He pressed a quick kiss to Ginny’s hair before he walked out of the room, his footsteps sounding off as he moved up the stairs.

“He just got really excited,” Ginny said around a laugh, and Lily’s eyes crinkled.

“I know he’s going to know I asked you this,” Lily smirked into her mug, “but how are you two handling it? How’s the transition going?”

Ginny pursed her lips, and upstairs she heard the distinct sound of her son chuckling.

“It’s… slightly weird, I suppose. But it feels… comforting,” Ginny finished, her cheeks flushing pink. Lily waited as Ginny’s eyes moved over her clasped hands, and then she sighed.

“It’s lovely,” she mumbled finally, looking up at Lily with a happy smile.

**(…)**

Rose woke sometime later, stumbling down the stairs with a hand in her hair, and a yawn on her face. Lily smiled at her youngest child as Rose walked into the living room, plopping down on the floor in front of where Ron was now sitting up, a cup of tea on the table next to the couch.

“Am I the last awake?” Rose asked, her voice cracking from sleep and disuse. Lily nodded, summoning a glass of water from the kitchen. Rose heard movement as the glass floated into her hands, and she squinted at the empty threshold.

“Are Harry and Ginny in there?” she asked, her brow quirking up. Ron nodded above her, his eyes heavy.

“Haven’t said a word since your mum came in here,” he mumbled, and Lily smirked at them.

“They’re adjusting,” Lily clarified, and Rose pursed her lips.

“You mean they… they don’t have to talk?” she asked, looking up at Ron. He simply took a drink of his tea.

“They do not,” Ron said, and Rose looked at her mother.

“You and dad talk,” she said, and Lily nodded.

“They’re adjusting,” she repeated, and Rose furrowed her brow.

“What does that mean?” she asked, taking another drink of her water. A stool scraped across the kitchen floor, and a tap turned on. The doorway remained empty.

“It means… they’ll learn to have a balance,” Lily said, looking pained. She rubbed the side of her face as she let out a long sigh.

“Is it hard to talk about?” Ron asked, picking up on the discomfort of Lily’s posture. She scrunched up her face for a moment.

“Not for any reason other than it’s just… very difficult to explain. It’s so intimate,” Lily trailed off, and Ron took the answer for what it was.

They looked up as Harry appeared in the doorway from the kitchen, his face turned back towards the center island. He smiled at something, and then walked into the living room, his eyes meeting Rose’s.

“Good morning,” he said to her, his voice chipper and bright. He plopped down on the couch next to Ron and nudged Rose with his foot. Ginny walked into the living room next, patting Rose on the head as she sat down in Harry’s lap.

“Good morning to you two,” Rose said up at them, waggling her eyebrows like James had taught her. Ginny laughed at her, reaching out to kick her softly.

“Where’s dad?” Rose asked Lily, looking away from Harry and Ginny as their faces relaxed and they stared at each other.

“At Sirius’. He’ll be home soon,” Lily said as she stood, patting each teenager on the head as she left the room and wandered into the kitchen.

“Hermione’s with her parents?” Rose asked, and Ron nodded slowly, his eyes closing as he fought off a yawn.

“They have brunch with her aunt every New Years Day. I’m sure she’ll end up here sometime later today,” Ron said, reaching over and picking up his cup of tea. Rose looked at Harry and Ginny then, and her brow furrowed as she took in their closed eyes and relaxed faces.

“Are we boring you two?” she said, reaching out and touching Harry’s leg. His face twitched and he kicked at her.

“We’re enjoying the quiet,” he said, and Ginny nodded against his shoulder. Rose shared a look with Ron before speaking again.

“It’s quiet in here,” she said, and Harry opened his eyes as he shook his head.

“It’s not quiet,” he pointed to his head, “up here.”

Realization dawned on Rose, and she turned so she was facing the couch, placing a hand on Ginny’s knee.

“Is it that bad?” she asked, and Harry shook his head again.

“No, it’s not bad. It’s…” he trailed off, looking at Ginny. She didn’t open her eyes, but her forehead creased.

“It’s disorientating,” Harry finally finished.

“Do you think it’d be better if you weren’t sitting like that?” Rose asked, and Ron failed to suppress a chuckle.

“I think it’d be worse,” Ginny mumbled, reaching over to pinch Ron, her eyes still squeezed shut.

“Maybe you should go back to sleep,” Rose suggested, noticing the way her brothers head lolled back on his neck. Ginny opened her eyes then, looking at Harry. It was a moment before they both smiled.

“We were going to try to translate the book Hermione gave me, on half souls,” he said, and from the kitchen, Lily cleared her throat.

“I’m sure Rose would love to help me,” she called, and Ron laughed into his tea. Rose glared up at him.

“Ron as well, yes?” she called in return as Ginny stood from Harry’s lap, holding out her hand for him to take.

“We’ll be upstairs,” Ginny said softly, and Rose reached out to pinch Ron’s leg before he opened his mouth. As Ginny and Harry disappeared up the stairs, Ron glared at Rose.

“Leave them,” she warned, and he rolled his eyes.

“I wasn’t going to bug them,” he sighed, “but when can I start making jokes, because they deserve it.”

**(…)**

In his sleepy haze, Harry managed to find a smaller shirt of his for Ginny to wear, and she tugged her dress over her head and folded it on his desk before slipping the shirt on with a smile. Harry pulled on a pair of long pajama pants and they crawled up into his bed together, limbs fitting together easily.

_“I could sleep for years.”_

_“I would miss you if you did.”_

_“It’s too early for that kind of thing, Harry.”_

_“It’s midafternoon.”_

They stopped communicating for a moment, and Harry felt Ginny sigh.

Their legs tangled together, and everywhere their bare skin touched sent waves of comfort through their bodies. Ginny pushed against the bed with her heels until Harry’s head could rest on her shoulder. She could feel his pleasure at the shift in positions, and she gently pushed her fingers into his hair, her small fingers massaging his scalp.

“Do you think it’ll calm down by the time terms starts again?” she whispered, her voice barely moving past his forehead. He reached up and removed his glasses from his face, placing them on the bed before hiding his face in her neck.

“I’d surely hope,” he replied, his breath fanning out across her neck.

“Do you think, that now that I can basically read your mind,” Ginny began, earning a chuckle from Harry, “that I could skip the rest of this year and graduate with you?”

“That is a thought,” Harry said, tilting his head to look up at the underside of her jaw. He tightened his hold on her waist and let out a long sigh.

“We’ll have to ask,” she mumbled, and Harry could tell she was completely serious. At his doubt, she pinched his side.

“It’s not that bad of an idea,” she said to his thoughts, and he shook his head.

“I didn’t say-“

“You were thinking it,” she cut him off, and he shut his mouth quickly.

_“I’ll never win an argument, ever again.”_

_“Neither will I.”_

_“Do you think we’ll have proper arguments, though?”_

Ginny hummed in response, clearly amused by the thought.

“I guess this answers the questions of why mum and dad never argue,” she said quietly, and he moved his head so he could meet her eyes.

“Because they always knew what the other was thinking?”

“That, and they didn’t actually have to argue aloud,” she finished, and he nodded.

Somewhere in his mind, Harry heard a sigh, and he shut his eyes against the exhaustion creeping into his bones. Ginny was warm and soft under his head, and he moved against her to get even closer, and her arms tightened around his shoulders.

Something that sounded like “sweet dreams” crossed his mind before he fell asleep.

**(…)**

Ron and Rose leaned over the kitchen counter, staring at the book Hermione had somehow found for Harry, the cover a mess of intricate Russian designs and letterings. Lily was swiftly shifting through one of her many charms books, fingers flying over pages as she searched for the spell.

“How did Hermione find this?” Ron asked as he picked it up, shifting through the pages. There was writing on some of them, also in what he assumed was Russian, and Rose shrugged.

“I thought you would have known,” Rose said, shrugging. A slip of paper fell out of the book and Rose looked at it, all scribbles and words she didn’t recognize.

“How does this spell work?” Rose asked, looking at the slip of paper carefully. Lily didn’t look up from the book, now searching through the back pages with a crease in her brow.

“It illusions the words on the page into the language you need,” she said simply, and Ron frowned at the book.

“Sounds bloody useful,” he said, and Lily slapped the book down suddenly, looking up at them.

“It’s helped me a lot in my work, now,” she pointed to a spot on the open page of the book, “I’ve found it. Bring the book here.”

Ron brought it over to where she sat at the small kitchen table, and he and Rose sat down with her. Lily pulled out her want, reading over the spell a few times before looking between the book and the slip of paper Rose held.

“Let me see that,” Lily gestured to Rose, and she handed her mother the paper. Placing it on the table, Lily focused on the page and twisted her wand in her hand, muttering under her breath quietly. The page glowed a soft gold as the letters started to shake, and then rearrange themselves. Ron looked at Lily in fascination as the ink on the page moved like small worms, scurrying to where they needed to be, and suddenly, the words appeared in perfect English.

“It’s…” Lily trailed off, and scrunched up her face. “It’s a shopping list.”

“Hermione did say it was second hand,” Ron mumbled, as Rose laughed quietly.

“Now that we know how it works,” Lily said, pushing the paper away and grabbing the book. She held her wand over the cover and recited the incantation once again. The titled scrambled until it appeared for them to read.

“’ _The Magic and Science Behind Half Souls_ ,’” Lily read, her brow furrowing again. Rose looked between her mother and Ron.

“Magic, and science? That’s plenty contradictory,” she said with a laugh, and Lily shrugged.

“It’s the Russians. Each culture has a different kind of approach to magic, and theirs is as strange to our as the rest,” Lily explained simple, opening the book to the first solid page of text. None of the words had changed, and Lily hummed to herself.

“I suppose I’ll have to go a page at t a time?” she asked rhetorically, the teenagers simply staring at her as she performed the spell again.

Rose and Ron scooted closer as the words formulated. Ron was the first to speak.

“We should take notes, for when it turns back into Russian,” he said, and Lily looked up at him and nodded

“Brilliant,” she said as he pushed out of his chair and made for the office.

When he returned, Rose and Lily were already pointing out words to each other, and as soon as he placed the supplies on the table, Lily was grabbing at them.

“The Russians are strange,” she said quietly, and Ron snorted.

“I didn’t hear a thing from upstairs. Harry and Ginny must be sound asleep,” he commented as he sat down again, and Rose looked at him with humor in her eyes.

“They don’t have to speak anymore. They could be planning your demise and you’d never know,” she said quietly, and Lily reached over to pinch her knee.

“Focus,” she said quietly before they got back to work.

When James arrived home less than an hour later, he found the three still at the table, hunched over a stack of notes and the book. He furrowed his brow as he walked from the fireplace to the kitchen, their conversation too quiet to hear.

“Interesting read?” he said, starling Rose and Ron. Lily simply smiled, leaning back in her chair to allow James to lean down to press a kiss to her forehead.

“God, dad, you snuck up on us,” Rose said, glaring at him. James shrugged, a satisfied smirk on his face.

“I didn’t know you’d study so hard on holiday,” he teased, and Ron shuffled the stack of notes in front of him.

“Hermione must be finally rubbing off on us,” he said, causing Rose to bark a laugh.

“It’s only taken seven years,” she teased, and Ron stuck his tongue out at her. James picked up the notes, already aware of what they said from the constant stream of excited thoughts coming from Lily. He read them over anyway, noting what Ron had found important enough to mark down, and Rose’s chicken scratch mixed in.

“So, the Russians are weird,” he said finally, causing Rose and Ron to laugh.

“I think it’s just the author,” Ron said, reaching up and taking the notes from James’ hands gently.

“Why do you say that?” Lily asked, Rose sitting back in her chair as Ron collected his thoughts.

 “Well, he’s highly focused on the scientific aspect of souls, despite being a wizard and probably understanding the so called legend better than muggles. And he put so much emphasis on how the souls split, how they look and probably feel, as though they’re something he could find in the body. He seems a bit off his rocker, to me,” Ron finished, pointing out different scribbles on the page to Lily and James. Rose bit her bottom lip, her eyes focused on the book.

“We still have a lot to go,” she said, and Ron nodded.

“The paragraph on the physical description of the souls was… quite strange,” Lily said, pulling Ron and Rose’s attention to her. James placed his hand on his wife’s shoulder, squeezing softly.

“Let’s keep reading, before we make any conclusions. We still have half the book to go,” Rose said, and Lily nodded.

James pulled out the final chair at the table and sat next to Lily, watching as she began the process of translating the page. As soon as the letters appeared, Rose began reading the page aloud, Ron scribbling down anything he found interesting or of importance. Lily pointed out anything she found interesting, and James could feel her cataloging away the information with all of the other research she had done over the years.

**(…)**

_“Harry, I know you’re awake.”_

The bed shifted as Ginny turned her head, looking down at the messy shock of black hair against her shoulder. She winced as she realized her right arm was asleep where it was pinned under Harry’s body.

_“No you don’t.”_

Ginny chuckled, reaching up to push Harry’s head off his forehead. He groaned aloud as he turned his head with her fingers, looking up at her with sleepy eyes. At such close proximity, his eyes could make out almost every detail on her face. He smiled softly at her, his eyes closing as he let out a sigh.

“How am I going to sleep without you after this?” he whispered, and she huffed out a laugh.

“I’m sure we’ll manage,” she said, and he pushed out his bottom lip at her.

“I know you don’t fully believe that statement,” he said, and she rolled her eyes.

“We should go eat,” she whispered, pressing her lips to his forehead. He sighed again, the content he was feeling pushing through the bond and over her body.

_“Who knew you’d get so sappy over a forehead kiss,”_ she teased lightly, and he pushed off her, rolling over and sitting up on the bed. He fumbled for his glasses on the bedside table as he yawned.

_“You say that like you’re completely unaffected.”_

He bent over her, pressing a soft kiss to her nose. The blush on her cheeks told him all he needed to know, his amusement prickling at her.

“There’s gotta be a way to hide things from each other,” she giggled as he kissed her cheeks, forehead, jaw line, and finally her lips.

“We’ll ask our parents. I would hate to never be able to surprise you again,” he said, and she nodded in agreement.

“Birthdays and Christmas would lose it’s meaning,” she agreed readily, pushing on his shoulders to sit up next to him on the bed.

“Your bags near the door,” Harry said, gesturing with his chin to the door. She quirked an eyebrow at him.

“You’re telling me,” she began, placing a hand on his thigh, “that my pajamas were right there, and you handed me one of your old shirts to wear to bed?”

“You did pack your own bag, did you not? You knew the pajamas were over there,” he countered, and she rolled her eyes.

“I see how this is going to go,” she said as she stood up, moving to her bag and opening it. Harry stood as well, walking to his dresser and grabbing an old sweatshirt.

“You do, do you?” he teased as she pulled on a pair of sweats. She didn’t grab a new shirt.

“I don’t think I have any shirts that would fit you,” Ginny mused, putting a hand on her chin as she looked at Harry. He felt his cheeks heat up as she thought about his body size.

“I think it’s time to go eat,” he said, grabbing her around the waist and lifting her up, shuffling across the room to the door.

_“Manhandling me won’t end the discussion,”_ she laughed, wiggling out of his grasp as they entered the hallway. Harry looked around quickly, assessing their surroundings, before bending down and pressing his lips to hers.

His arms wrapped around her, pulling her against his chest in a tight embrace that had her pushing up on her toes to get closer to him. With their thoughts running through each other’s heads, Ginny knew a second before he opened his mouth and his tongue licked her bottom lip, and he heard her inaudible moan as she opened her mouth.

“ _Snogging me won’t end the discussion either,”_ she thought when her thoughts came back to her, their lips breaking apart with a quiet _smack_. Harry smirked at her, kissing the side of her mouth.

“Worth a shot,” he whispered, releasing her to grab her hand, pulling her down the stairs.

_“Worth a shot,”_ she mocked, his laughter filling the staircase.

**(…)**

Sirius and Lily walked into the Ministry the on the 5th with smiles on their faces, their conversation quiet as they entered the expansive lobby. Lily had her bag slung over her shoulder, and Sirius held files that he’d worked on over the holiday. As they neared the elevators, waiting to take them to separate departments, an airplane flew down from overhead, landing in Sirius’ open hand.

“I’ve been here five minutes,” Sirius joked, unfolding the parchment as Lily shrugged, looking over his shoulder to read.

“Important meeting? What did you miss?” Lily said, and Sirius shrugged.

“They’ve kept me up to date on all of the cases over the holiday, so I don’t know what it could possibly be, unless something major happened last night,” he said, bending down to kiss her cheek.

“See you at lunch?” Lily said, and he nodded.

“As always, Evans.”

He got onto the elevator, surrounded by people heading to the same floor, the note heavy in his hands. He shoved it in with the rest of his papers, and held on as they moved at fast speed to their final destination.

The Auror department was always somewhat chaotic on Mondays, a weekend of interns and new employees in charge bringing messes to clean up. Sirius wasn’t surprised to see his boss standing in the main meeting room, hands on his hips, talking to some of their newest recruits. As Sirius made his way towards his office, he seemed to catch Robards attention.

“Black! Once you’ve set your stuff down, my office,” he said, not giving Sirius a chance to respond before he was shutting the meeting room door again, returning to talking to the newbies.

It took him five minutes to set his paperwork in the appropriate boxes, watching as it shuffled off into the system to the next person in the paper trail. When he finally made it Robards office, the Head Auror was already sitting at his desk, fingers clasped in front of his face.

“Good holiday, sir?” Sirius asked as he knocked on the door, and Robards waved him in.

“Took the family to Italy, swam in the Mediterranean. Ate enough carbs to set me back in training a bit, but the desk hides the extra pounds,” he joked, and Sirius laughed easily. He sat down across from his boss, waiting as the older man seemed to collect his thoughts.

“How are the Potters and Weasley’s?”

Sirius sat up at the question, the confusion evident on his face as he thought of an answer.

“They’re lovely, as always. Molly got splendidly drunk on New Year’s Eve, forgot magic exists and did everything by hand, as usual,” he said lightly, and Robards laughed.

“They haven’t received any threats, or had any strange encounters?”

“Could you cut to the chase here?” Sirius snapped, already annoyed at the run around. Robards smiled at him.

“Always to the point with you,” he shuffled some papers. “A second year student at Hogwarts didn’t return home, as her family said was planned, so we contacted Dumbledore and he claimed she was still in the castle. When they sat her down, they noticed a grey ring around her eyes.”

Sirius swallowed thickly at that.

“A second year?”

“A second year. Her library records show she checked out any books on souls and half soul theories, and the librarian even caught her trying to get into the restricted section at the beginning of term, but shook it off as curiosity.”

“No one noticed she was under the Imperious Curse, sir?” Sirius asked, a spike of anger swelling in his chest. Robards shook his head.

“Many of her professors said she always kept her head down, didn’t talk much, had been shy in her first year. They didn’t think anything of it.”

Sirius bit his lower lip, his hands clasped in his lap.

“So, what’s going to happen?”

“Well,” Robards began again, “they broke the curse on her, and she couldn’t remember a thing, as is to be expected. She was sent home to be with her family, and we have a few of the healers from St. Mungo’s going to check on her before term starts next week, to see if she remembers anything or has any lasting side effects. How long she was under the spell and the degree is unknown, though we’re going to try to have Dumbledore talk to her dormmates when term starts again.

“This all happened the same day that there was an attempted kidnapping in Romania, a girl with a half soul tattoo.”

Sirius perked up at that, his eyes narrowing.

“Was she the daughter of a dragon trainer? Charlie Weasley told us about her,” Sirius said, and Robards nodded slowly.

“Yes, the one and the same. Her name is Adela, and she only was able to get away from the man because her other half found her through their connection and fought the man,” Robards looked down at his papers, picking up a stack and handing it to Sirius. There was a rough sketch, and lots of notes about the incident from the Romanian Ministry.

“You think they’re related?” Sirius said, and Robards pursed his lips.

“I think that, with this new information, we need to find this man, and we also need to make sure that Hogwarts remains safe.”

Sirius nodding, hearing the dismissal in Robards tone. He stood, papers clasped in his hands, and took in a deep breath.

“What should I tell the Potters and Weasleys?” he asked, his voice slightly strained. Robards regarded him with a sympathetic look.

“The news of the attempted kidnapping is yours to share, but all other information, including the description of the man, is to stay in this office. We still have the two families on watch, and Dumbledore is on board to work with us on making sure Hogwarts is safe once term begins again.”

Robards looked down at his paperwork again, waving Sirius off with his hand. Sirius nodded as he turned on his heel and left, shutting the door behind him.

**(…)**

“Have they said a single word to each other?”

Fred looked into the den, his eyes landing on the lump that was Harry and Ginny on the couch. Harry had arrived several hours earlier, and after lunch and helping out with some household chores, Ginny had dragged him into the den, where they’d sat down on the couch and proceeded to wrap their limbs around each other.

“One? Maybe two. Not a complete sentence, that’s for sure,” Fred replied, looking at his twin. George scrunched up his face.

“Mum and dad talk,” he said, and as though summoned, Molly appeared in the kitchen, her hands in her apron pockets.

“What are you two doing?” she asked, moving to the sink where the last of the dishes were washing. The last plate moved to the counter to dry, and Molly hummed.

“Can you and dad actually communicate with your mind?” Fred asked, and Molly looked at him with thinly veiled amusement.

“What?” she asked, and George pointed towards the den.

“Harry and Ginny haven’t said a word to each other in about an hour,” George said, his tone slightly accusatory. Molly pursed her lips.

“They’re adjusting,” she said, and the twins glared at her.

“You and dad can talk without being verbal,” Fred stated, and Molly chuckled.

“That’s how you always knew what the other had said when we tried to get away with things,” George mumbled, and Molly laughed a little louder.

“They’ll learn to keep a balance,” Molly said, her voice airy as she moved around the kitchen. Fred and George watched their mother before turning to each other with a grim expression.

“They’re going to be menaces,” George said, Fred nodding as Molly laughed. From the den, they heard a chuckle.

“We sure are,” came Ginny’s voice from the living room, Fred and George staring wide eyed at each other.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Anyway, as I said, I'm very sorry for how long it's been since I've updated. As I said in the author's note on the last chapter, lots of personal things happening. I spent most of July taking care of my mother and now I'm back home and working again. Oh, adult life. I'm still working on my AU Project I started, and there's a couple ideas that I'm going back and forth between devoting my attention too, so we'll see which one I decide to finally work on and post!
> 
> Thanks for being patient friends!


	13. Back To Hogwarts II

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm alive and I don't want to talk about how long it's been since I updated. This goes out to Ana, who promised me she'd cry if I updated today.

The trunk blurred in front of her eyes.

Ginny huffed out a sigh, folding her clean clothes into the trunk, her head pounding slightly. She sat down on the end of her bed and ran her fingers over her forehead, trying to soothe herself.

“Bill! What are you doing here?”

Molly’s voice echoed up the stairs, and Ginny took the distraction for what it was and abandoned her trunk, walking out into the hallway. She came up short as Bill bounced up the stairs, his eyes wide with excitement.

“I figured it out!” he exclaimed as he saw her, and Ginny furrowed her brow.

“What?” she asked, her voice slightly raspy. Bill pulled her into a quick hug before ushering her into her room, sitting down at her desk.

“The necklace! I broke the curse,” he said, and Ginny frowned.

“The… curse?” she asked, her thought process slowed. Bill stared at her for a moment, his excitement fading into worry.

“Are you okay?” he asked, and she nodded quickly.

“Yeah, it’s just… there’s a lot going on in my head,” she settled on, and Bill nodded.

“Would it be better if we went to Harry and we talked about this with him?” Bill asked, and Ginny pursed her lips, trying to focus on the thrum in the back of her head. She pushed at it, hoping to convey the sentiment. She felt a flicker of recognition.

“Give it a minute,” she said, and Bill rolled his eyes.

“So… the twins weren’t lying to me, then? You two can actually communicate? Mum and dad have always been able to communicate nonverbal?”

Ginny nodded slowly, flashes of what Harry was doing flickering across the backs of her eyes.

“It’s… a lot more than communicating,” she said lowly, and Bill stood suddenly, walking over and sitting next to her on the bed. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders as she sighed.

“You look distressed,” he said, and she shook her head.

“Lily said it would lessen soon, that it’s just very strong at first,” Ginny explained, and Bill nodded.

“I wonder why it wasn’t always like this, why you two haven’t always been able to… do whatever it is you’re doing,” he said, his tone light, but his words serious. Ginny shrugged, her lips pursed.

“Another mystery, I suppose,” she said, both looking up as Molly let out a surprised noise.

“Harry, dear! What’s the matter?”

“Nothing, Ginny seemed to need me,” came Harry’s response, his voice growing louder as he moved up the stairs. It was another moment before he appeared in the doorway, an easy smile moving across his face as he saw Ginny.

“Oh, that’s what you were trying to say!” he said, opening his arms as Ginny stood and moved to him, her body melting against his.

“I got the impression that you needed to talk to me and something about a curse,” he said as he rubbed her back, his body relaxing into the embrace. Bill watched on with curious eyes as the lines on Ginny’s face disappeared, and Harry’s posture softened. A beat passed where Harry simply looked down at Ginny’s head, and then he looked up at Bill.

“You figured out what’s wrong with the necklace?” he asked, shuffling his feet and moving himself and Ginny towards the desk chair. They moved together so Harry was sitting on it, Ginny in his lap. Their faces looked much calmer, and it had been less than a minute.

“I did,” Bill said, shaking himself out of his thoughts, moving his eyes down to the necklace in his hand. He heard what sounded like lips coming together and fought down a smile.

“It wasn’t actually cursed, was it?” Ginny asked, reaching over and taking the necklace from Bill’s hands. He shook his head, sitting up straighter.

“No, not a real curse, but there were a couple spells on it, spells I didn’t recognize immediately. I actually took it to a friend, and we looked over a couple spells together, because the magical signature was fuzzy as well,” Bill started, pulling a piece of parchment out of his back pocket. He unfolded it and smoothed it out on his knee.

“Fuzzy?” Harry asked, Ginny nodding along. Bill’s eyes narrowed as he thought.

“Fuzzy as in… it wasn’t fully formed? So, you both know how magical signatures work, right?” he waited for them both to nod to continue. “So, you know that it’s like a fingerprint; distinct and different for every witch or wizard. The signature we found wasn’t. It looked like what I’d assume the writing on this parchment looks when Harry here takes off his glasses,” Bill said, and understanding washed over Harry and Ginny’s faces.

“Fuzzy,” Harry said around a laugh, and Bill nodded.

“With a fuzzy signature, the spells are a little more difficult to pull apart and understand their purpose, but we did,” he smoothed out the paper again, “and it was quite interesting. I said it looked like a memory charm on New Years, and I was right. It was how it was affecting Ginny with that charm that was peculiar.”

Ginny sat forward on Harry’s lap, the necklace pulled taut between her hands.

“There was another charm on the necklace that acted as a time marker, interacting with the memory charm to block memories before a certain time,” Bill continued, and Harry gasped softly.

“Oh,” Ginny sighed, and Bill watched them as they looked at each other, lips moving slightly.

“When,” Harry swallowed thickly, “Ginny took off the necklace, the memory of how we met came to her instantly.”

Bill chewed on his bottom lip for a moment.

“As if it was, what, breaking through?” he asked, and Ginny nodded.

“Something like that,” she chuckled as Bill looked down at the parchment again.

“There was another spell, that looked like a confundus charm, but it didn’t look like it served much purpose…” Bill trailed off, his eyes widening significantly. He was staring at the pendant as Ginny played with it between her hands, and he reached out suddenly to still her movements.

“Put the necklace on for me quick, please?” he asked, and Ginny leveled him with a glare.

“It’s spell free, right?” she asked, Harry laughing softly into her shirt. Bill nodded.

“One-hundred percent, just humor me a moment,” he said, and she rolled her eyes as she undid the clasp. Harry held up her hair as she put the necklace on for the first time in over a week. Its familiar weight settled around her neck and she could feel Harry’s happiness right next to hers.

She resettled back into Harry’s lap, her arms pinned to her sides by Harry’s arms around her torso. Bill looked at her critically for a moment, staring at where the pendant sat on her chest.

“What?” Ginny asked, and Bill looked on the verge of laughing.

“Remember how, in the legend, the souls are said to have settled in the chest, right near the heart?” Bill asked, and Ginny and Harry looked down at the pendant, settled against her chest.

“Isn’t the heart like… more left?” Harry said, gesturing with his hands to below Ginny’s left breast. Bill nodded.

“Yes, but if there was a confundus charm close to something as intelligent as a soul…” he trailed off, his eyes suddenly faraway. Harry’s eyes widened almost comically as Ginny sighed again.

“There’s no way this is all coincidental,” Ginny said, reaching up to touch her chest. Harry hummed behind her, meeting Bill’s eyes over her shoulder.

**(…)**

Lily looked up from her lunch as the chair across from her slid across the floor, and she smiled as Sirius sat down. Smiling in return, he placed his lunch on the table in front of him and nodded at the stack of papers next to her food.

“Some light reading?” he teased, and she rolled her eyes at him.

“It’s actually the translation of the Russian book on souls that Hermione gave Harry for Christmas,” Lily explained, shuffling the papers into a neater pile as she spoke. Sirius’ eyes lit up as he looked at the stack, and he leaned forward on his elbows, voice low as he spoke.

“Anything interesting in there?” he said, and Lily pursed her lips, her eyes flickering between the stack of papers and Sirius.

“There’s a lot of speculation on the physical embodiment of the soul, and how to find it,” Lily said quietly, flicking through the pages to find one she’d highlighted. Sirius took the paper she handed him and read over the passages, his brows coming together as he read.

“Is the book of magical origin?” Sirius asked, and Lily nodded slowly.

“I would assume as much, though he talks a fair bit about muggle science as well,” she explained, pointing to sections of the translation. Sirius nodded in understanding as he read, holding out his hand for more. Lily handed them over, returning to her food as he read. When he looked up at her, his mouth was set in a line.

“This… this is… interesting,” he shuffled the papers back into a neat pile, and Lily narrowed her eyes at him.

“What are you thinking?” she asked, and he shook his head.

“There’s some… information, I can’t tell you, but this… helps,” Sirius leaned in closer, his eyes shifting around the room before he spoke again.

“You heard from Charlie about his coworker who’s daughter is a half soul? Apparently, someone tried to kidnap her recently. The man who tried to kidnap her got away, but they have a loose description of him and are going to tighten security around Hogwarts and keep a closer eye on your family,” Sirius all but breathed across the table, Lily picking up every single one. She sat back when he finished, a surprised look on her face.

“Someone tried to kidnap the girl?” she rushed to whisper, her eyes wide. He nodded solemnly.

“She only got away because her other half knew what was happening and found her, and she was able to fight off the man,” Sirius shuffled some of the papers on the table, keeping his eyes low. Lily sucked in air through her teeth.

“I’m assuming you told me this because I can share this with the family,” Lily said with a smile, causing Sirius to laugh, his shoulders relaxing slightly.

“Yes, and with the kids going back to school…” he trailed off, but Lily knew what he was implying. She already had the speech forming in her head.

(…)

The January sky reflected off the Hogwarts Express as students clamored aboard, seeking the warmth and comfort of the familiar train. Harry could see Sirius, or more appropriately Padfoot, slinking between people on the platform, his tail wagging and eyes sharp.

“He once said he wanted to make the change permanent,” James mused, his eyes following his best friend. Lily laughed so suddenly she snorted, her hand flying up to cover her mouth.

“He’d miss flying too much,” she said, looking over as Harry and Rose giggled. Harry turned his head as someone broke through the barrier and his eyes lit up as Ginny and Ron came into view, followed closely by Molly, Arthur, and Bill.

“It’s like a kid on Christmas,” Rose mumbled, a smile in her voice. Harry ignored her, mentally flipping her off. He saw Ginny laugh as the sound echoed in his head, and she hurried across the platform to slam into his chest.

“That looked painful,” Ron teased as Harry wrapped his arms tightly around Ginny, and Rose giggled beside them.

“You look painful,” Ginny mumbled, causing James to cover a laugh with a cough.

“Alright kids, remember what we told you,” Molly said, crossing her arms.

“No more peddling the twins products.”

“Broom closets are just that, broom closets.”

“Make good decisions unless a Slytherin is involved.”

“Win the House Cup or you’re disowned.”

James clapped Harry on the back, ignoring the laughter of the other adults.

“All of those, with the added bonus of don’t go looking for trouble,” James said, lifting his arm so Lily could stand by his side.

“Yes, mind your own business and let the adults handle things,” Lily added.

“I am an adult,” Harry said, failing to contain a smile as James rolled his eyes.

“Not until you graduate,” Molly interjected with a smile as the train whistle blew.

“It’s fast approaching,” Ron grinned as he grabbed the handle of his trunk, taking the hug Molly was already offering him.

Lily broke away from James to hug Harry tightly, the platform beginning to clear as people hurried to get onto the train. When Lily looked up at her son, she had a serious expression on her face.

“We mean it, Harry. Please don’t go looking for trouble. If it finds you, find help. Be careful,” she said softly, and Harry nodded solemnly.

Rose and Harry had been nearly finished packing when their parents had asked to talk to them about some information Sirius had relayed to them, about the girl in Romania. He knew that at the same time, Molly and Arthur were telling their children the same information, all gathered around the kitchen table of the Burrow. Everything that had happened up until now didn’t feel real, but with this new information, it came slamming down onto Harry that this was actually happening.

“I promise mum,” he said, and she smiled, reaching up to kiss his cheek. She pushed him off towards the train, and he stumbled up the steps behind Rose, her face echoing his.

Rose found her friends halfway down the train and bid them goodbye, leaving Ron, Harry, and Ginny to walk all the way to the back to find Hermione, sitting by herself in one of the last compartments. She smiled at them when they opened the door, standing to help them get their trunks put away.

“I was beginning to wonder if you’d finally missed the train,” she said as she sat down again, Ron plopping down right next to her. He pressed a chaste kiss to her hair, and she smiled up at him.

“Our parents had a lecture to give us,” Harry said, and Ginny grimaced.

“I feel like ours was much worse than yours,” she said as Hermione perked up.

“Did they hear something?” she asked, sitting forward to look intently at Harry.

“The girl Charlie knows in Romania that is a half soul?” Harry started, and when Hermione nodded, he continued. “Someone tried to kidnap her, but her other half knew and saved her.”

Hermione’s eyebrows came together at the information, sitting back on the seat and entwining her fingers with Ron’s when he took her hand. The compartment was silent for a moment, the only sound the dull noise from the train and the students down the hall.

“Why would the person behind this try to kidnap her instead of having the Dementor do the job?” Hermione mumbled after a moment, and Ginny looked at her from where she sat cuddled against Harry’s side.

“What do you mean?” Ginny asked, and Hermione bit her bottom lip before she spoke.

“I thought that’s why we were learning the Patronus charm, and the added protections against Dementors, because he had trained them to go after people,” Hermione said, and Harry could see the wheels working in Ginny’s brain.

“Maybe he lost control of them, they do generally have no loyalties,” she began, and Ron shared a look with Harry.

“What about what was in that book you got me? The Muggle ideas of science and the physical embodiment of the soul? Maybe this person thinks he can physically capture the soul by… himself…” Harry trailed off, the thought too much to think about. Ginny pushed back at his ideas, her mouth in a frown.

“That’s disgusting,” she whispered, and Ron sucked on his teeth.

“But if there’s no success with the Dementors, and he thinks he can get the souls himself… why not try? This person’s already insane, I’ve decided, so this might be right up their alley,” Ron said matter-of-factly, and Hermione cringed.

“That’s still disgusting,” she said, agreeing with Ginny. Harry had to stop himself from laughing at Ginny’s gloating.

“Our parents made us promise we wouldn’t go looking for trouble,” Harry said softly, wrapping his arm around Ginny’s shoulders as she thought about falling asleep. Hermione nodded slowly.

“And if trouble finds you?” she asked, and Ron looked at Harry before he spoke.

“All bets are off.”

**(…)**

The Twins lost the bet, and by the time they stepped off the train, it seemed everyone knew that Ginny was Harry’s other half. They followed the stream of students up the path, silent as they walked, their conversation quick in their heads.

_“But you don’t know everything I know, so skipping a level doesn’t make sense.”_

_“I bet I could know everything you know.”_

_“I’d really appreciate you didn’t,”_ Harry grimaced, and Ginny nodded.

_“I know, the idea that we could know everything and never have any real… personal space again is slightly terrifying.”_

_“I’m not even sure how I could go about ‘searching’ your brain.”_

_“There’s got to be a way.”_

Their conversation broke as they arrived at the carriages, groups of students breaking off to find a seat. Harry reached back and Ginny took his hand, following his lead towards an empty carriage. She looked over her shoulder to see Ron and Hermione following.

“Neville, come on,” Ron called as he spotted Neville in the crowd, looking slightly lost. He smiled when he saw them and jogged over to the carriage, climbing up and sitting next to Ron. Luna appeared out of the crowd and climbed up as well, a few leaves in her hair.

“Hey, Luna,” Ginny said as her friend sat down next to her, and the carriage began to move.

“Your aura is a lovely color, Ginny,” Luna said, looking around Ginny at Harry. “You too, Harry. Very warm and whole.”

Harry could see Hermione rolling her eyes but he smiled, touching Luna’s arm with the hand that was around Ginny’s shoulders.

“Thank you, Luna,” he replied. Luna nodded at him before pulling a paper out of her jacket, opening it up, and turning it upside down. Harry stifled a laugh as Ginny saw Ron squeezing Hermione’s hand.

“So,” Neville began, his eyes on Harry and Ginny. They simply smiled and he laughed.

“It’s not a big shocker,” Neville said after a moment, and Ron laughed softly.

“No, it isn’t,” he agreed, sharing a smile with Neville.

“What’s it like? I’ve never really… well, besides your parents, but I’ve never gotten to ask,” Neville stammered, and this time Hermione chuckled softly.

“It’s… something,” Ginny said softly, seemingly unable to articulate anything. Harry nodded.

“The basics are we don’t have to talk and everything feels… better,” he said, to which Ginny pressed a soft kiss to his shoulder.

“You… don’t have to speak? Like, you can… talk in your mind?” Neville asked, and Harry nodded.

“Turns out my parents have always been able to discuss our punishments before we tried to sweet talk one of them, which explains a lot with the twins,” Ron supplied, and even Luna laughed at that.

“That’s wicked,” Neville said as his laughter died down.

They stopped talking as they reached the castle, joining the crowd once again to head inside. The conversation seemed to grow louder as they reached the Great Hall, the chorus of voices echoing off the walls. Luna left them to sit at her table, and Ron led them to the end of the Gryffindor table. Some of the other seventh years were already there, looking ready for the feast to begin.

“Welcome back, ya jokers,” Seamus said as they sat down, everyone situating themselves comfortably on the benches. Ginny slipped her hand into Harry’s under the table, and they shared a soft look as the noise level in the Great Hall seemed to dim away slightly.

“Hold the phone, is what people’ve been saying on the train true?” Seamus’ voice broke through their space and Harry looked at his friend with mild bemusement.

“What have people been saying on the train?” he asked, and Dean leaned across the table.

“That Ginny’s your other half, and you’ve figured it out,” Dean said, and Ginny nodded.

“Exactly,” she said, her voice making it clear that the subject was closed, and as Dean opened his mouth, Dumbledore stood, and it truly was.

**(…)**

The common room had cleared out substantially by the time Hermione and Ron had to go walk the halls, slipping on warm coats to combat the Scottish cold. Most had gone to bed hours ago, the long day of travelling and socializing taking its toll.

Harry and Ginny were still sitting on the couch when Hermione and Ron left, Ginny curled up in Harry’s lap, both under a blanket. The only people left now were sixth and seventh years, mingling around one of the tables in the corner, their voices low. Harry was glad the group was leaving them alone, and he heard Ginny agree as she hid her face in his neck.

It had been a slightly uncomfortable five minutes when Dumbledore had stood and talked about the recent attempted kidnapping in Romania, most eyes in the Great Hall leaving the headmaster and finding the only half souls in the room. It had been then that the rumors from the train started up again, and by the time they’d reached the Gryffindor tower, it appeared everyone knew.

“It just makes sense,” Lavender had said, Dean nodding next to her. Everyone said a variation of those words, and Harry was already tired of being back at school.

_“Give it a week, everyone will stop talking about it,”_ Ginny broke through his train of thought, and he looked down at her to see her already looking at him. Her face was soft, her eyes tired, and he smiled down at her.

_“A week is too long,”_ he replied, leaning down to kiss her forehead. She hummed softly.

“I promise you, in a week, with all of the school work that’s about to be dumped on us, everyone will have forgotten,” Ginny whispered aloud, poking Harry’s chest with slightly more force than needed. He dramatically grimaced, and she laughed loud enough for the other students in the corner to hear and look up.

“We need to figure out how to cut off communication when we’re studying or we’re going to continually have headaches,” Harry mumbled, and Ginny’s eyes widened at the thought. Harry could feel the pain she was imagining and he scrunched up his nose.

“But if I can skip a level-“

“Why would you want to skip a level? Who really wants to be taking their N.E.W.T.S?”

“Hermione, probably.”

“It’s going to be interesting to watch Ron be boyfriend to the inevitable stress meltdown,” Harry said with a chuckle.

They both looked up at the sound of owl wings, and Harry smiled as he saw Hedwig floating down to sit on the arm of the sofa they occupied. She had a rolled up piece of parchment attached to her leg, and she hooted softly at Harry as he removed it. Her eyes strayed to Ginny for a moment, and Harry felt the anticipation in Ginny’s stomach as Hedwig hopped up onto the back of the couch and moved closer to Ginny’s hair.

“What’s she doing?” Ginny asked, keeping her eyes on Harry. He looked up and watched as his bird gently nudged Ginny’s head with her beak, a soft sound coming from her chest, before she moved farther away and took off.

“She was giving you affection, I think,” Harry said as Ginny watched Hedwig disappear from the room.

“She knows,” Ginny said, and Harry nodded.

“She probably does,” he said as he unrolled the parchment, smiling at the familiar script there.

“It’s from Sirius,” he said, and she perked up next to him.

_“Pronglet and Ginny,_

_I’ve told Hedwig to catch you two together so that only you have this information. I’m not supposed to be sharing this with anyone outside of the Auror’s office, but I feel that you two need be privy of this information._

_We received a description of the man who attempted to kidnap the girl in Romania. He has light brown hair, dark eyes, a crooked nose, and is of average height. One person said there was a dark spot on his right hand, but that wasn’t substantiated by any other witnesses. Adela, the half soul, wasn’t sure if he had a dark spot on his hand, but did say his skin was extremely translucent up close. She described it as if she could see the entire framework of his veins._

_This information is for you two only. Please destroy this paper once you’ve memorized the descriptions. Be careful out there._

_Much love, Padfoot.”_

_“Light brown hair, dark eyes, crooked nose, average height, possible dark spot on his right hand, translucent skin,”_ Harry said to Ginny, and she repeated it back.

“ _He sounds creepy looking,”_ Ginny mused, and Harry snorted out a laugh.

“ _Did he ever not sound like he’d look creepy?”_ he asked as he stood and walked over to the fireplace, Ginny right behind him.

“ _No, but now I have an idea of just how creepy,”_ she said as he crumpled up the parchment and tossed it into the still burning flames.

“ _Do you think he told our parents?”_ he asked, and she shrugged.

“ _Not unless he thought they’d need to know this information more than us,”_ she replied, and they looked at each other as they moved to sit back down.

“ _You think he believes we’re in more danger than they are?”_

_“It’s possible. If he went after Adela, a newer half soul, maybe he believes it’ll be easier to… extract the soul, or do whatever he’s trying to do on newer or younger people,”_ Ginny mused as they sat down again, and Harry’s stomach churned uncomfortably.

“ _That’s an unpleasant thought.”_

_“Well, remember, we’re supposed to let the adults handle things,”_ Ginny said, her mental voice dripping with sarcasm, and Harry kissed her gently in lieu of a response. She smiled, a small audible giggle escaping her chest, so he kissed her again.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do feel the need to apologize for how long it's been since I updated this fic. There's no "excuse" other than I am constantly depressed and my ability to write fluctuates with my depressive moods. I won't make any promises as to when the next chapter is going to be up, but I've made it a goal that I finish this story by August, which is totally doable. I think I can finish this story in less than 5 chapters, but we'll see. 
> 
> Anyway! Thanks for reading/sorry for the long wait. I love you all.


	14. Hogsmeade

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To me, this is a bit of a filler chapter, but it still progresses the plot and it's really fluffy and cute so I enjoy this.

January was unbearably cold, with the winds slipping into the cracks of the castles and permeating any warming charm the staff placed. The Entrance Hall doors slammed whenever closed, echoing up through the hallways and into the Great Hall. It startled a few, and interrupted the natural flow of chatter surrounding breakfast, and as the Great Hall doors opened, many looked over to glare at Filch as he limped into the hall, hair sticking up at odd angles.

“How much more sleep do you think Filch gets at night now that Fred and George are gone?” Ron asked as he poured himself some juice, eyes moving between his friends. Hermione snorted into her tea, her eyes watching Filch move carefully.

“With all of the new ways they’re sneaking products into the castle, I’d assume it hasn’t changed much,” Ginny said from where she sat next to Harry, their ankles crossed under the table. Harry was barely listening to the conversation, mostly because Ginny was listening for him, but also because Dumbledore was staring at a clump of students at the Slytherin table with great curiosity.

_“Just talk to Dumbledore if you’re so curious,”_ Ginny said, breaking her own concentration of the conversation at the table to look up at Harry, a crease between her brows. Harry leaned into her, pressing his lips to her forehead imperceptibly. He vaguely registered Ron making a kissy noise across from him, followed by a groan as Hermione kicked him.

“I’m eating over here,” Ron said, causing Seamus to chuckle.

“If we have to watch you and Hermione carry on, you can handle this,” Ginny shot back, and Dean laughed so suddenly he choked on his food. The loud laughter that followed caused Dumbledore to break his focus on the Slytherin table and make eye contact with Harry, who simply smiled before going back to his breakfast.

(…)

The Ministry’s main lobby was a strange place to be stuck waiting, interrupting the flow of people moving towards their final destinations, but James supposed it was better than being outside in the cold. He received a few curious looks, some smiles and waves he gladly returned, but he stayed focused on the spot he knew Lily would emerge from, listening to her as she travelled through the elevator system to get to where he was.

_“It’s sad that the element of surprise is something we can never have,”_ Lily’s voice sounded off in his head, meaning she was closer than he thought, and he smiled at that.

_“You never did well with surprises anyway,”_ he retorted, and he felt something akin to a mental slap in his mind.

_“You’re the one who nearly cried when Sirius and Peter planned that birthday party third year.”_

_“The entire house jumped out at me at once, it was quite shocking,”_ James protested, and he smiled as his wife appeared out of the arriving elevator, a happy smile on her face. She quickly made her way through the busy crowd to his side, giving him a swift kiss when he pulled her into a hug.

“Arthur and Molly are waiting,” James said aloud, and she nodded, grabbing his hand and pulling him towards the apparition point.

They arrived at The Burrow moments later, inside the comfort of the wards and right near the front steps. They could see Molly moving inside, and feel the warming charm placed on the house pulsing out at them. Lily walked in first, sighing at the smell of lunch on the table, already waiting for them to arrive.

“Afternoon!” Arthur called from where he sat in the sitting room, a stack of papers in his lap. As he stood the papers floated in a neat stack onto the end table, and he spared them a glance before moving into the kitchen.

“Afternoon indeed,” Lily said, hugging him as he walked over. James bent down enough for Molly to kiss his cheek as he hung his jacket near the door, taking Lily’s when it floated over to him.

“How’s the Ministry doing today?” Arthur asked Lily as they all sat down, the kettle filling their cups with hot water.

“There’s buzz about the Americans going around,” Lily began, and Molly frowned.

“What have they done now?” she asked, and James laughed softly at Molly’s tone. Lately, it seemed that many of their magical issues came from the Americans and their strange laws.

“There’s rumors that someone is creating Dementors somewhere in the rural south,” Lily said, and Molly faltered as she placed food on her plate. James continued to fill up his and Lily’s plates, having already heard all about this earlier.

“Creating Dementors? That’s… what?” Arthur said, seemingly speechless. He’d been a bit under the weather the past couple days when the news had arrived, and hadn’t been into work to hear it.

“How does one create a Dementor? Their very existence is the quirk of dark magic that took place at Azkaban, by Ekrizdis. How could one hope to create them, in the deep south of America?” Arthur said, his mind seemingly going into overtime. He placed his fork down on the table to clasp his hands together, and Molly reached over to touch his arm gently.

“It’s a rumor, but a few local children have gone missing and shown back up looking… quite grey,” Lily said, realizing this was the worst kind of talk for eating, to which James chuckled.

“What are the Americans doing?” Molly asked, her face looking eerily pale.

“They’ve been simply trying to find this person, but it’s apparently impossible. They can’t use any sort of tracking, and despite all of the counter charms they’ve used, nothing is revealing itself. It’s just children showing up looking like they’ve experienced the Kiss,” Lily explained, relaxing as James put his hand on her leg. Molly and Arthur sat back in their chairs, Arthur moving his food around on his plate now, his mouth pinched.

“The missing Dementors have all come back, right?” Arthur asked, and Lily nodded.

“All but one,” she said, thinking of the ongoing lookout the entire Ministry was placed on for the last unaccounted Dementor.

“Was that the one the handlers at Azkaban said was the most viscous?” Molly asked, and Lily nodded again.

“It can’t be in America, right? They have a lot of wards guarding from Dementors at their borders, don’t they?” Molly asked, finally picking her fork back up and digging into her food.

“Extensive; more so than we have around our homes and currently around Hogwarts. There was an incident during the War on Independence, when British ships were travelling to America, that a Dementor followed the decay on the ships and made it to American soil. Their Magical Congress had never experienced it before, and wizards fighting in the war from our side had to help them get rid of it, by getting handlers to apparate to America to take the thing back by broom across the Atlantic. They then spent lots of time and energy making sure it never happened again,” Lily explained with a chuckle in her throat at the memory of finding this information among the limited history on Dementors.

“I suppose it’s entirely lucky they’ve mostly stayed at Azkaban,” Arthur said, laughing softly at the story. James, who had been picking at his food the entire conversation, reached across the table for seconds.

“It’s by design, think of the kinds of mass memory wipes we’d have to do if the Dementors freely roamed the earth. Hopefully they can all die out soon,” he said, to which the table agreed.

They were quiet for a moment as they all ate, their forks scraping across plates. Lily could tell that Molly and Arthur were communicating, and she was suddenly glad for the silence in her own head. James was keeping his thoughts as quiet as he could, allowing her to relax for a moment.

“That wasn’t the conversation I thought we’d be having over lunch today,” Arthur said finally, and they all laughed.

“Let’s change the subject then. Have you heard anything from the kids?” Molly said, and Lily perked up.

“No, but Dumbledore did send me a note saying he’s happy to see that Harry’s figured it out. I have a suspicion that he knew long ago,” James said, thinking about the note he’d found on his desk in his office that morning.

“He probably knew each of us were half souls before we did,” Arthur commented as he finished off his plate, placing his utensils down gently.

“Sirius said he’s made several visits to the Auror department recently, so I think he’s more clued in than we know,” Lily said, clasping her hands together in front of her face.

“I’m sure we’ll be going to Hogwarts soon to talk to him,” James said, to which Molly snorted.

“This year has actually been the first time in almost ten years that I haven’t had to go talk to Dumbledore about one of my children at least once a month,” she said with a laugh.

“Fred and George were quite the students,” Arthur said with a warm smile, one that Lily felt herself smiling.

“You said ten years, so Bill and Charlie had to have a couple incidents,” James leaned forward as he spoke, and Molly snorted on a laugh.

“It was always Charlie and his propensity to sneak animals into the castle,” she said as Arthur laughed.

“There was one time,” Arthur began, and as he launched into the story, James placed his arm around Lily’s shoulders, finally opening his thoughts again, and they sighed as their weekly lunch went along per usual.

(…)

January turned into February, and the monotony of everyday life in the castle was broken one Monday when the students noticed a posting for a Hogsmeade weekend. The conversation at breakfast was significantly louder that morning than the previous five.

When the weekend finally came, Harry woke up early, buzzing with his anticipation, and Ginny’s. He walked into the common room to, not surprisingly, find Ginny already there, talking excitedly to Demelza about what shops to visit.

“I need to buy some candy, I’m running low on chocolate,” Demelza said, fixing her hat to her head carefully. Harry could see the wind moving outside, soft but steady, and was already dreading the walk down to the village.

“I just want to not be in the castle,” Ginny said, reaching behind her to take Harry’s hand as he walked up to them.

“I know, this winter’s seemed unbearably long. Spring cannot come fast enough,” Demelza looked at Harry. “Good morning Harry, excited about the day?”

Harry nodded, pulling his earmuffs out of his jacket pocket and putting them around his neck.

“I need to find a gift to send my parents,” he said, and Demelza furrowed her brow.

“For Valentine’s Day?” she asked, and Ginny widened her eyes. Harry felt the realization hit her as it hit him, that Valentine’s Day was the next weekend.

“Yes, for that, and also because it’s our… fun family tradition to get them presents around this time because this is the time of year they realized they were half souls,” Harry said with a laugh, thinking of the present ideas Rose was already working on.

“It’s like an anniversary present?” Demelza said, and Harry nodded.

“Their actual anniversary, they like to say, is the day after my dad’s birthday, but that’s no fun. So Rose and I randomly send them gifts,” he explained, and Ginny chuckled.

As Demelza opened her mouth, the stomping of feet down the stairs startled them, and they all looked up to see Ron and Seamus racing down the staircase, arms jostling each other to reach the bottom. Ron came out first, stumbling into the common room with a triumphant look on his face.

“Where’s that Irish luck, mate?” Ron said teasingly, and Seamus rolled his eyes. Dean and Neville walked out a moment later, looking much more serene.

“Shoulda seen them getting dressed, trying to beat each other. At least one of them forgot a sock,” Dean said, gesturing between Ron and Seamus. Harry laughed, eyeing Ron’s ankles.

“We finally have something to do today, we should be excited!” Ron said loudly, jumping slightly as he moved over to where Harry and Ginny stood.

Once Hermione had joined them, they all made the walk down to the Great Hall, where breakfast was already being served. The other house tables were filled with older students, all trying to cram in a much food as possible before making their way out into the snow.

“I want to visit the bookshop,” Hermione was saying as she buttered her toast, and Ron nodded next to her.

“We’re also going to the supply shop, I need a few things,” he said softly, and Hermione smiled at him.

“Of course,” she said, bending up to kiss him on the cheek. Dean made an aborted noise and Ron rolled his eyes.

“You lot don’t bat an eyelash when Harry and Ginny are being soppy,” he mumbled, causing laughter around him.

“We aren’t soppy,” Ginny said, laughing at her brothers words. Ron rolled his eyes, before pretending to stare lovingly at Harry. Harry laughed, reaching over to shove Ron.

“Don’t be rude,” Hermione said as Ron jostled her, trying to sound stern despite the grin on her face.

“Whatever, all I know is I’m full and I’m ready to go,” Ginny said, taking one last bite of her porridge and standing up. A few other people at the Ravenclaw table were beginning to stand, and it caused a chain reaction as everyone began to stand and make their way towards the Entrance Hall.

As they waited in line to be checked out by Sprout and Snape, Harry watched Dumbledore walk across the Great Hall with a tiny looking second year by his side, his walk slow to accommodate her. She looked slightly familiar, but from where he stood, it was hard to place her. As the line moved forward he lost sight of them over the heads, but Ginny elbowed him after a moment.

“ _She’s a Slytherin, I’ve seen her around a few times.”_

He nodded at that, linking their hands as they moved up in the line again.

_“Why are you suddenly so curious in what Dumbledore is doing?”_ Ginny asked, and Harry thought for a moment.

“ _I feel like, if anyone knows what’s happening in this castle, it’s Dumbledore. And someone had to have been in the castle this past semester to curse the necklace,”_ Harry replied as Ginny nodded.

“ _I’m sure he’ll be calling you into his office sooner rather than later,”_ Ginny thought softly, and Harry leaned his body weight against hers for a moment.

They didn’t communicate after that, but focused on the chatter around them. When they reached the front of the line, Snape looked at them critically before nodding at them and marking them off the list. He didn’t even say a word to them.

“He really is a greasy git,” Harry said aloud as they caught up with Ron and Hermione, who had already gone past Snape.

“Only a few more months,” Ron smiled at Harry, who smiled in return, and they high fived excitedly.

“Alright, let’s get moving before I freeze, please,” Hermione said, linking her arm with Ron’s and pulling him along the path.

(…)

It was a few hours later when Harry and Ginny entered one of the less crowded café’s in the town, a shiver running down their spines at the rush of warmth. The few patrons inside seemed to be from the village, and as they walked to the counter, only one person looked up.

Ginny quietly ordered them teas while Harry looked around the shop at the many small booths and tables. He finally decided a booth was appropriate and Ginny agreed. They took their teas quietly and walked to the booth in the farthest corner, sliding in together on one side.

_“It’s so warm in here, I might never leave,”_ Ginny said as she took off her scarf and hat. Harry hummed in agreement, his earmuffs already on the table. They undid their coats next and placed all of their outerwear and bags in the seats across from them.

_“It’s quiet, that’s all that matters,”_ Harry replied, and Ginny leaned into his side with a smile. The village had been overwhelmed with students, and finding a quiet place inside to sit had seemed a near impossible task until they’d spotted the little café way out of the way.

_“Do you think our parents have this much trouble with noise?”_ Ginny asked quietly as they sipped their teas. Harry held his cup in his hands as he turned his head to look at Ginny for a moment. There was a dull throbbing in the back of his head he knew she felt too, and they had finally decided it was from overstimulation. The constant stream of thoughts in the back of their heads, coupled with being back in a castle full of people, meant they had a slight headache all the time.

_“They’ve never seemed to have any outward issues, but they’ve also had many years to practice tuning each other out probably,”_ Harry placed his cup down and wrapped an arm around Ginny’s shoulders. She turned into him again, her nose pressed against his collarbone. They took in a deep breath together, their bodies in perfect sync as they exhaled.

_“Do you think we could tune each other out?”_ Ginny sounded hopeful, and Harry pursed his lips.

_“Try it right now,”_ he said, and she furrowed her brow. With her nose still pressed to his shirt, she focused on listening to the quiet chatter across the room, and as she did, her stream of consciousness quieted in his mind.

“Like that,” Harry whispered aloud, and she nodded carefully.

Her focused faltered, and she felt Harry’s thoughts more clearly for a moment before she actively tried to tune them out without focusing on something else. Turning in her seat, she picked up her cup and took a drink, and for a moment she was alone in her head before an unfamiliar thought pushed at her and she sighed.

“I’m trying as well,” Harry said softly, his arm still wrapped around her shoulders.

“It almost hurts more,” she said, giving up and letting the thoughts back into her conscious mind. As her head settled, she relaxed into Harry’s side.

“I think trying to actively be unaware of each other’s minds makes the souls uncomfortable,” Harry mumbled into her hair, keeping their conversation confined to their table.

“Maybe someday,” Ginny said with a hopeful smile, and Harry didn’t even think before he bent down and kissed her. Her lips were still cold from outside, or maybe so were his, and she wrapped her arms around his torso as he pulled back slightly, their foreheads still touching.

“You feel it too,” Ginny whispered, her lips brushing over his as she spoke. He nodded slightly, and she leaned in again for another kiss, fighting against the smile pushing at her lips. It didn’t seem to matter though, because he was smiling too, and they broke into soft giggles as they tried to kiss despite the beaming smiles they now both wore.

They’d talked about it, how being half souls meant that, no matter what, they were together forever. It was a constant knowledge they shared, that this was it for them. But it wasn’t scary, it didn’t feel constricting, and in reality, they rationalized that they wouldn’t be happier anywhere else. Their level of comfort with each other rivaled anyone’s they knew, not just because they were half souls, but because they had been best friends since they were children. Falling in love was the easiest thing in the world.

_“I feel it a lot,”_ Harry whispered as he moved a hand into her hair, their lips still attached, and chests twin cacophonies of fuzzy happiness.

“Say it out loud,” Ginny said against his lips, and he could feel her impatience as he rolled his eyes.

“I’m in love with you,” he whispered, kissing her softly.

“I know,” she replied, and he bit his bottom lip to keep from laughing too loudly.

_“That’s mean,”_ he pouted, making his eyes as wide as possible. She snorted.

“I’m in love with you, too,” she whispered in reply, and he moved to pepper kisses across her cheeks and forehead. She laughed then, louder than before, and when they looked at each other again, they were both smiling wider, if possible.

_“It’s silly-“_

_“Only a little-“_

_“Like, we knew this-“_

_“It’s different to hear it, instead of a passing thought you had one day over break when we woke up after a nap on the couch in your living room,”_ Ginny clarified, and Harry blushed high on his cheeks at the memory.

_“You’re the one who thought it just last week, when I filled your plate with food while you argued with Dean about football,”_ Harry argued, his smile smug. Ginny rolled her eyes at him.

_“You thought it first.”_

They stared at each for a moment, letting the moment sink in. It didn’t feel like anything had changed, at least not monumentally, except their smiles were wider than normal. Ginny moved first, leaning her head against his shoulder and letting out a deep sigh.

“ _You still thought it first.”_

Harry rolled his eyes, jostling his shoulder just enough to make Ginny sit up, a smug smirk on her face. Her face changed though, as a thought bloomed in his mind that she latched onto and they looked at each other seriously.

_“I still think we would’ve gotten together, even without being half souls,”_ Harry thought quietly, the mental equivalent of a whisper echoing through Ginny’s head. They shifted on the bench, their bodies moving closer together as they thought. Ginny took a long drink from her mug.

_“D’you think we would’ve figured it out before now, or would it have been a couple years?”_

_“Oh, definitely a couple years, I would’ve keep convincing myself you were just my best friend while I had a few unsuccessful dates,”_ he pulled a faux serious face, but she could feel how little he believed the words.

_“Half souls or not,”_ Harry kissed her hair softly, “ _I think we were meant to be in each other’s lives in one way or another.”_

_“Life just wouldn’t be as fun,”_ Ginny replied, and Harry agreed by kissing her forehead. She scrunched up her nose, a happy smile on her face. She tilted her face up and he met her halfway, kissing softly in the faint glow of the torches around the room. Their tea was definitely getting cold, but it was nothing a warming charm couldn’t fix after they’d finished.

(…)

Ron shifted from one foot to the other, watching as Hermione read through book titles at the second hand store. After visiting the high-end book shop, she’d insisted on coming here, as she claimed she always found the best books at second hand shops. Ron had long since finished any shopping he’d set out to complete, and was now letting Hermione enjoy herself in the stacks.

“…well she came back from break a different person, so I’m not surprised. Something was definitely wrong with her last semester.”

Ron tilted his body towards the voices on the other side of the shelves, his eyes looking between the books to see if he recognized the group speaking.

“She barely remembers any of her coursework, and she’s had to go see Dumbledore twice since we got back. I want to ask her what happened, but I’m not sure,” another voice said as Ron caught a glimpse of a Slytherin scarf. He glanced over at Hermione briefly to see her still focused on the books before moving across the aisle to be closer to the voices.

“Why do you care so much?” a new voice said quietly, and Ron heard someone scoff.

“Because she’s in our house, she looks to be having a hard time, and it’s a good thing, to be nice to others,” the first voice said, sounding somewhat angry. The group was quiet for a moment, and Ron heard a few books shift on the shelves.

“Let’s go look in another section,” the second voice said, and they started to move away. Ron backed up quickly and moved back to where Hermione was. She looked up as he bumped into her, oblivious to his temporary absence.

“I’m not finding anything good,” she said, a frown appearing on her face. Ron shrugged, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and kissing her temple.

“Do you want to try another section?” he asked, and he felt her shoulders relax as she wrapped an arm around his torso.

“No, I think I’m good. Did you see anything you’d like?” she asked, and he shook his head.

“No, but I did overhear a group of Slytherin’s talking about someone in their year being a bit off,” he said softly as he moved them out of the stacks and towards the exit. Hermione looked up at him, her brow creased.

“Off how?” she asked as they grabbed their coats from near the door.

“They were talking about someone, probably younger than them, who came back from break not remembering a thing, and she’s gone to see Dumbledore twice already,” Ron grabbed their scarves, handing Hermione hers. She smiled in return.

“What do you think?” Hermione asked as they walked outside, looping arms to walk against the cold wind.

“I want to know more,” he replied, and Hermione nodded.

“So do I,” she said, stumbling a bit on a patch of ice under the snow. Ron held her arm tight, and as they pushed through the wind towards The Three Broomsticks, Hermione stiffened in a sudden thought.

“You said Slytherin?” she asked, and Ron nodded.

“It was a group of 6th years,” he said, to which Hermione pursed her lips.

“I need to talk to Ginny then,” she said.

“Why?” Ron asked, pausing outside the pub’s door as they arrived.

“I remember a younger student occasionally showing up randomly in the library while Ginny and I studied, and I want to see if Ginny also remembers her as a Slytherin,” Hermione explained softly, and Ron nodded in understanding.

“We probably won’t see them until we’re back in the castle,” he said as he opened the pub door, and she chuckled.

“As long as they’re back before curfew,” she said, though there was hardly any seriousness to her tone. Ron smiled at her, slipping his arm around her shoulders and steering them towards the sound of Dean loudly yelling their names.

(…)

Eyes on his watch, Snape startled when Harry and Ginny hurried up the steps into the Entrance Hall, matching smiles, and bright pink cheeks. He glowered at them as they stumbled inside, though neither were paying attention as they shook off the cold from outside.

_“Hermione would’ve given us an earful if we had been late,”_ Ginny said, pulling on Harry’s hand impatiently. He yielded and followed her up the stairs, falling into step with her as they walked.

_“It wouldn’t be anything we couldn’t handle after having your mum yell at us once or twice,”_ he joked, and she laughed loudly, the sound echoing off the empty hallways.

_“Your mother knows how to give an angry speech too,”_ she replied, leaning into his side as the staircase they were on shifted in position. He wrapped his arm around her then, a smile stretching across his face.

_“Remember the morning after the twins 17 th birthday? The absolute chaos of that morning?” _he said around a laugh, the memory filling both of their minds. She laughed as quietly as possible as they stumbled up the stairs again, the entrance to the common room right around the corner.

_“We couldn’t find Ron for hours,”_ she was still laughing, aloud now, and there were tears in the corners of her eyes as they thought about it more.

_“I woke up in the pond. The only thing above water was my head,”_ he said, his body shaking with laughter as well.

_“What I remember most was mum and dad sitting us all down, Ron still covered in the web like string they’d used to stick him to that tree, and mum talking so quietly I thought I was already dead,”_ she recounted, a memory Harry hadn’t ever seen before. He stopped laughing as Ginny showed him what she remembered, and a shiver ran down his spine.

_“My parents were just happy I was alive,”_ Harry said as they reached the portrait of the Fat Lady. She looked them up and down, a small smile on her face.

“Have a good day, did’ya?” she asked, her voice quieter than usual. Harry nodded, leaning into Ginny slightly.

“I would think, what with you two being the last ones to get back,” she raised an eyebrow, “though it wouldn’t be the first time a Potter was out after curfew.”

Ginny laughed, elbowing Harry as he chuckled softly.

“You’ve seen too much,” Ginny said, and the Fat Lady nodded.

“Aye, that’s the truth,” she replied. Harry rolled his eyes.

“I believe the password is ‘Peppermint Pastilles’,” Harry said, to which the Fat Lady pouted before opening up the portrait hole.

“Good night,” Ginny called as they climbed inside, the door shutting a little louder than usual behind them.

_“She never gives Rose that hard of a time,”_ Harry said as they walked into the mostly empty common room.

_“Rose doesn’t have the cloak,”_ she replied, to which he pulled a face.

The only person in sight was someone sleeping in the far corner, a book on their lap. Pulling on her hand, Harry led Ginny over to the couch in front of the fireplace. Flicking his wand, their bags floated up and out of sight, heading towards their respective beds. They were silent as they settled down on the couch, arms winding around each other in the most comforting way. She kissed the exposed skin of his neck and he pressed his lips to the top of her head. Together, they let out a sigh, relaxing into their spot on the couch.

“I love you,” he whispered, just fast enough to say it before the thought passed to her head. She tilted her head back, jostling their position slightly, to look up at him, a warm smile on her face. Even if he couldn’t read the thoughts running through her head, he could read the sparkle in her eyes as she looked at him.

“Neat trick,” she said, and he tangled his hand into her hair as they kissed, both of them finally feeling settled after the long day.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I realized at the end of typing this that I hadn't included Rose in this chapter? I don't know what happened there to be honest, but she'll be back. 
> 
> Also, it wouldn't be a chapter posted without a shoutout to Ana now would it...


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